A GROUP SAVE 10 MEN IN A SITUATION ANALOG TO SLAVERY IN THE SOUTH OF PIAUÍ _Photos: Reproduction/MPT-PI_

Ten men were rescued from slavery-like work by the State Mobile Anti-Slave Labor Group, which brings together representatives from the Ministry of Labor and the Regional Superintendence of Labor and Employment .

They worked in the extraction of stones, in a quarry located in Serra do Quilombo, municipality of Palmeira do Piauí, in the south of the state. According to MPT, the rescue was carried out at the end of December, in the week before Christmas, after complaints were forwarded to MPT-PI, and the workers were housed in a canvas hut, without side protections and with a wooden floor. wood. The working conditions were absolutely degrading, with no suitable place to spend the night, because the accommodations looked a lot like slave quarters, with no sanitary facilities, no toilet paper, the place to take a shower was improvised with a tarpaulin.

Food was prepared in improvised stoves on the floor, made of stones.

They also ate their meals outside, sitting on tree trunks, stumps and stones, MPT-PI Attorney General Edno Moura reported.

The prosecutor also pointed out that the rescued workers did not have personal protective equipment, necessary for the exercise of the activities, because their functions present a risk of accidents.

In addition, no worker was registered and therefore did not receive the most basic labor rights, such as the thirteenth bonus, vacation and FGTS.

According to the SRTE labor inspector, Robson Waldeck Silva, unfortunately, situations like this are still repeated across the country.

He points out that agencies have stepped up inspections to curb the practice and ensure workers’ rights.

Once the degrading work situation has been verified, in a situation analogous to slavery, the statements of offense are drawn up and the worker is also inserted to collect three tranches of unemployment insurance, he specifies.

The rescued workers received all severance payments due, which added up to more than R$22,600.

The employer always exposes himself to the payment of an indemnity for individual and collective moral damage to the workers and to criminal proceedings, accompanied by a sentence of 2 to 8 years of imprisonment.

MPT also pointed out that the vast majority of bailouts made by institutions in 2022 were the direct result of complaints received anonymously by MPT and Edno Moura appealed.

The participation of the population is very important, in making these complaints, so that we can eradicate slave labor in the State of Piauí.

In view of the success of the complaints filed, I call on the population to continue to file a complaint, ”he reinforces.

HOW TO REPORT Complaints about forced labor can be filed on the MPT-PI website at www.prt22.mp.mp.br, go to the tab services/request/complaint, by e-mail [email protected]via WhatsApp (86) 99544 7488 and also in person at the Piauí Public Prosecutor’s Office.

They can be made without it being necessary to identify the whistleblower. _Rebeca Lima (With information from MPT-PI) [email protected] _