Ministry of Labor frees 2,847 from slavery‑like conditions this year
A total of 2,847 workers were rescued between January and November this year from work analogous to slavery in Brazil. The partial figure for 2023 is already the highest number of rescues in the last 14 years and a record in the total of severance payments.
During the period, the Ministry of Labor and Employment inspected 516 urban and rural establishments, which resulted in the payment of more than BRL 10.8 million in wages and severance pay to rescued workers.
Coffee growing was the sector with the highest number of rescues (300). Sugar cane production, which ranked first until June this year, had 258 rescues. The outcome is mainly due to inspections by the Mobile Group, formed by ministry inspectors alongside the Federal Police, the Federal Highway Police, the Labor Prosecution Service, the Federal Public Defender’s Office and the Federal Prosecution Service.
The Southeast had the highest number of operations, with 192 establishments checked and 1,043 workers rescued. The region was followed by the Central-West, with 103 inspections and 720 rescues. The South had 475 workers rescued and 76 operations conducted. The Northeast, in turn, saw 83 crackdowns and 450 rescues, and the North had 159 rescued and 62 operations performed by the ministry.
