| This 51 year-old worker was
rescued by the "grupo movel" along with other 10 workers. He had
been initially hired by the gato to work in the farm cleaning the fields
to grow cattle in 2000 without registered employment. He used to work 6
to 7 days / week and neither the "gato" or the farm owner ever
offered tools or food and they wouldn't pay anything if the job didn't get
done in time; in the last 2 months at the farm, he didn't receive any money.
He had to buy his food in a groceries shop owned by the farmer's brother-in-law.
He became initially indebted when the "gato" paid for his food.
He was working continuously to try and clear the debt. To be able to pay
his assistant he had to use the money he would normally spend with his own
food so sometimes he would starve. He had never had paid holidays. He lived
with 2 other workers in a small shack with thatched ceiling and walls and
dusty floor inside the farm. To cook they used a coal cooker made of clay
kept inside the shack. There was no bathroom or toilet. He had to drink
water from the same pond where he washed himself near the shack. In June
2005 he accidentally burned his leg with hot oil while preparing breakfast
and so he couldn't work for 30 days. The maximum he was ever paid at the
farm was 40 pounds for 3 months of work. Nevertheless, he always believed
that the following month would be better. The authorities considered his
situation analogue to slavery and he was rescued by the Federal Police and
the inspectors of the Minsitry of Labour. |
