The Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras, asked the Federal Supreme Court (STF) for priority in the judgment of actions that deal with the fight against slave labor.
The request was sent this Thursday (30) to the STF. Aras asks that actions dealing with the matter be judged by the Court in the first half of this year.
The prosecutor argued that 2,500 workers in conditions analogous to slavery were rescued by labor inspectors last year.
In Aras’ assessment, “contemporary slavery” is present in the country as one of the “worst forms of labor exploitation”.
“The Ministry of Labor and Employment rescued 918 workers in conditions similar to slavery between January and March 20, 2023, representing an increase of 124% compared to the volume of the first three months of 2022. The number also indicates a record for a first quarter in fifteen years, surpassed only by the numbers collected in 2008, when 1,456 people were rescued,” he said.
Proceedings are under way in the STF that analyze the classification of conditions for the configuration of degrading work and the possibility of state laws defining administrative sanctions against companies caught keeping workers in irregular conditions.
The main action deals with the possibility of expropriation of properties used to subject workers to degrading working conditions. There is no deadline for the judgment of the actions.
DPU
Earlier this month, the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU) also filed a lawsuit with the Supreme to ensure the expropriation of land and the confiscation of assets from companies caught using workers in conditions analogous to slavery.
In the writ of injunction filed with the Supreme Court, the body argues that the measure is provided for in Article 243 of the Constitution, but has not yet been regulated.
The action requests the immediate use of Law 8257 of 1991 to expropriate rural and urban properties that use workers in conditions analogous to slavery. The norm is applied in the expropriation of cases of drug cultivation.
