Another victim of work similar to slavery carried out in a residence was rescued, this time in the municipality of Além Paraíba (MG), approximately 370 kilometers from Belo Horizonte. In addition to not receiving a salary or having guaranteed rights such as vacation, the woman also had the role of domestic worker and caregiver for one of her elderly bosses.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Employment, the rescue took place on December 2, in an operation led by a team of inspectors from Juiz de Fora (MG), with the support of two auditors from Conselheiro Lafaiete (MG). There was also collaboration from the Public Ministry of Labor and the Federal Police.
The victim had worked for the family since 1996, remaining unregistered until 2009. Even with formalization that year, he spent the entire period without the right to vacation or wages. In 2015, according to the Ministry of Labor and Employment, employers found a way to circumvent the Domestic Workers Law, which would guarantee more rights to these employees, who are, for the most part, women black. They pretended to dismiss her, but only by failing to register with the Work and Social Security Card, as she continued to provide services to them.
As a result, the ministry adds in a note, the worker had only about three years of contributions to the National Social Security Institute (INSS), that is, in addition to not receiving a salary, she had a very low contribution amount, in case she needed insurance. -unemployment or other type of benefit. Despite having worked for around three decades, almost none of that time was officially counted towards retirement.
The victim also did not have her own room, having been forced to sleep in her boss’s room for the last three months, to maintain her caregiving activities, and only had a few pieces of clothing, hygiene products, a blanket and a mirror.
With the rescue, tax auditors determined the immediate termination of the working relationship established between the family and the victim. The team also ensured the regularization of the employee’s registration and full payment of the labor rights that had been denied to her since she began providing her service. The MPT signed an agreement with the employers to pay compensation to the worker.
On the call “dirty list“, started in 2005, the first record of a domestic employer reported as an offender, for exploiting someone in a way that constituted work similar to slavery, is recent – from 2018.
One of the main ways for employers to convince domestic workers that they are not violating their rights is to claim that “they are part of the family”, which is not true, as the relationship is professional and not a purely emotional bond. This implies, therefore, that employers must fulfill their obligations, in exchange for the service provided.
Contemporary slave labor
Current Brazilian legislation classifies as work analogous to slavery any forced activity – when a person is prevented from leaving their place of work – carried out under degrading conditions or exhausting working hours. Any case in which the employee is constantly monitored, in an overt manner, by the boss is also subject to reporting.
According to the National Coordination for the Eradication of Slave Labor (Conaete), exhaustive working hours are any work that, due to circumstances of intensity, frequency or exhaustion, causes harm to the physical or mental health of the worker, who, being vulnerable, has his will annulled and his dignity affected. Degrading working conditions are those in which disregard for the dignity of the human person is established by the violation of the worker’s fundamental rights, especially those relating to hygiene, health, safety, housing, rest, food or others related to personality rights. .
Another form of contemporary slavery recognized in Brazil is debt bondage, which occurs when the employee has his movement restricted by the employer on the grounds that he must pay a certain amount of money.
How to report
The main channel for making a complaint is the Ipê System. Complaints can be submitted anonymously, that is, without the complainant identifying themselves, if they prefer.
Another possibility is the Laudelina application, developed by Themis – Gender, Justice and Human Rights and the National Federation of Domestic Workers (Fenatrad). THE tool can be downloaded on cell phone or accessed by a computer, and its technology allows users to use it in the internet browser without having to do download or have a high-speed connection.
