Brazil Labor Inspectors Rescue 21 From Slave-Like Conditions in Northeast Quarries

Overview

• A SIT-coordinated sweep from Oct. 26 to Nov. 5 spanned Ceará, Pernambuco and Piauí with support from the Federal Police and the DPU.
• In Juazeiro do Norte (CE), a 61-year-old who lived inside a granite pit for about three years was removed from a site officially deactivated by environmental authorities.
• In Pernambuco’s Exu and Parnamirim, 15 workers were rescued, including a 15-year-old found performing hazardous manual stone cutting.
• In Caldeirão Grande do Piauí, five men were found in precarious lodging without potable water, safety gear or formal job registration.
• The employer in the Ceará case paid about R$8,000 in severance and moral damages, with violations sent for labor, environmental and judicial follow-up.