Federal operation rescues 593 subjected to slave‑like labor
Officers from six public agencies taking part in the fourth edition of Operation Rescue freed 593 people found in slave-like conditions over the past month. At least 18 victims were children or adolescents subjected to illegal child labor—16 of them forced to perform services in degrading conditions without pay.
The rescues took place in 11 of Brazil’s 27 states from July 29 to August 28. The highest numbers of cases were recorded in Minas Gerais (292 people freed), São Paulo (142), Pernambuco (91), and the Federal District (29). The economic activities with the highest incidence of slave-like labor were agriculture (onion, coffee, and garlic crops), construction, and services (restaurants, bars, and apartment complexes).
Rehab clinic
One of the most appalling cases took place in Pernambuco state, where 18 patients at a rehabilitation clinic for people struggling with substance abuse were subjected to forced labor.
“All of them were in-patients forced to work as part of the hospitalization,” said André Roston, general coordinator of inspections for the eradication of slave-like labor and human trafficking at the Ministry of Labor and Employment, when he presented the preliminary results of Operation Rescue IV on Thursday (29).
This year, 11.6 percent more people were freed than in last year’s edition of Operation Rescue, when 532 were liberated.
International workers
Another incident reported during the presentation of the results was the release of international workers. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, four Argentinian workers were found without personal documents or work visas in degrading conditions, extracting, cutting, and loading eucalyptus wood.
In Mato Grosso do Sul state, inspection teams had to use pick-up trucks, speedboats, and a helicopter to reach two establishments where 13 Paraguayans were found in degrading conditions, subjected to debt bondage.
“Geographical isolation and difficult access for inspection teams contribute to the vulnerability of the workers,” Roston pointed out.
So far, those responsible for subjecting the workers to conditions similar to slavery have had to pay out more than BRL 1.91 million to settle severance pay.
