Rescuing Brazilian Coffee Workers Subjected To Slave-Like Labor – CoffeeTalk

In 2024, Brazil’s Ministry of Labor and Employment conducted 1,035 inspections to combat slave-like labor, resulting in the rescue of 2,004 workers in degrading conditions and securing BRL 7,061,526.03 in labor and severance payments. The fight against slave-like labor in 2024 benefited a total of 5,741 workers, including those whose rights were verified and upheld through labor inspectors’ efforts. The sectors with the highest number of workers rescued were construction (293), coffee cultivation (214), onion cultivation (194), land preparation, cultivation, and harvesting (120), and horticulture (excluding strawberries) (84). The ministry reported a notable increase in the number of workers rescued in urban areas, representing 30% of the total identified as being in slave-like conditions in 2024. The leading states in terms of worker rescues were Minas Gerais (500), São Paulo (467), Bahia (198), Goiás (155), Pernambuco (137), and Mato Grosso do Sul (105). Each rescued worker is entitled by law to Unemployment Insurance for Rescued Workers, paid in three installments of one minimum wage each. The ministry is internationally recognized by the UN and the International Labour Organization as a model of best practices in implementing public policy to eradicate slave-like labor.

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