According to Reporter Brasil, the inspection was carried out on August 13 in the agricultural establishment Boa Esperança, and officials from the Labour Ministry (MTE) and the Federal Police participated.

The workers had been hired to build fences and clean the field, which would be used for extensive cattle production.

It was reported that the workers were not allowed to leave the farm due to alleged debts they had with a sub-contractor, and that is why they had to work without receiving a salary.

“Working to pay debts and retention of documents are common practices in the universe of contemporary slave work”, according to Reporter Brasil.

Salaries lower than the minimum wage, sale of working tools (which should be provided by the employer), undignified housing and lack of access to drinking water are some of the irregularities found by the inspectors in Boa Esperança.

The levels of slave work in the North-East States of Brazil are worrying. This week, the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) published a report about the levels of conflicts related to the struggle for land, and it found that 54 per cent of conflicts took place in the North-East region.

Meanwhile, slave work was also documented in other States of the country, for instance in Mato Grosso do Sul, involving workers who come from the North-East, especially Maranhao, Piaui and Pernambuco States.

Reporter Brazil also denounced that on August 18-19 an investigation by governmental bodies allowed the release of 14 rural workers who had come from the North of the country and were working in slavery conditions in a field close to Campo Grande, capital of Mato Grosso do Sul State.

Photo: Repórter Brasil