A report from the International Labor Organization (ILO), released on Tuesday (12), defends the approval of PEC 438/01, which represses slave labor. That document, titled “The cost of coercion”, quotes Brazil as a global example in the fight against forced labor, for having implemented several governmental and civil-society actions to eradicate that kind of exploitation.

The director of ILO’s bureau in Brazil, Laís Abramo, said that the existence of a regulatory benchmark will intensify the fight against slave labor in Brazil. “The approval of that PEC would be an important measure”, she stressed.

The bill determines the expropriation of real estates in which the exploitation of workers in similar conditions to slavery is verified. That matter was approved in first turn by the Chamber in 2004.

In order to conclude the voting in second turn, the coordinator of the Parliamentary Front Against Slave Labor, Deputy Paulo Rocha (PT-PA), expects to get to an agreement with the Ruralist bench: “I am looking for the negotiation with the Agriculture and Animal Industry Confederation of Brazil to approve that PEC. We lack a harder law on that issue.”

In addition to a regulatory benchmark against slave labor, the report of ILO also recommends increased efforts in Brazil on prevention policies related to that problem.

Report - José Carlos Oliveira/Rádio Câmara
Editing - João Pitella Junior
Translation - Positive Idiomas Ltda