Twelve individuals, ten adults and two adolescents aged 16 and 15, were rescued from situations comparable to slavery in Paranacity, located in Northwest Paraná. Seven of these people are from Paraguay and were induced to come to Brazil through a job offer posted on a social network.
According to the Labor Fiscal Audit (AFT), the rescue took place on Wednesday, the 30th, in a rural area of the city, where the workers were engaged in harvesting cassava. The names of those responsible for the work were not publicly disclosed.
Auditors verified that the group resided on mattresses donated by neighbors, and the shelter lacked minimum hygiene conditions. Furthermore, there were no food supplies available for the workers.
The AFT statement clarified that the circumstances found went beyond mere isolated labor infractions, characterizing, according to the Labor Inspection, the submission of workers to degrading working conditions, which falls under one of the forms of slavery-like labor provided for in Brazilian legislation.
After the rescue, the people were taken to a hotel, where they received adequate assistance and food.
Workers were commanded by an intermediary
The AFT reported that after expressing interest in the vacancy advertised on social media, an intermediary contacted the interested parties, presenting himself as 'gato' (a term used for recruiters/middlemen). This individual was responsible for the recruitment process and transporting the workers to Brazil.
Since the end of August, the workers had been harvesting cassava on various properties in the region, following the directives of this intermediary. Although payment was made only in the first week, subsequently, the workers stopped receiving salaries.
The AFT determined that the employers must pay all due labor benefits, in addition to compensating for estimated moral damages. The twelve workers will also be entitled to unemployment insurance specific to those rescued from slavery-like situations. Additionally, due to the presence of two adolescents among the rescued, the AFT pointed out the possibility of halving the penalty.