Brasília - Yesterday (29), the International Labor Organization (ILO) delivered US$ 40 thousand worth of equipment to groups in the Ministry of Labor assigned to combat slave-like labor in Brazil. In all, 30 radio transmittors, 7 digital cameras, 5 laptop computers, and 5 portable printers. "The donation was not made arbitrarily, but based on an historical need of the sector," explained the ILO director in Brazil, Armand Pereira. "It is a symbolic donation, a way to recognize the increasingly effective job that is being done in the country."

The partnership between the ILO and the Ministry of Labor was signed yesterday morning. According to the Executive Secretary of the Ministry, Alencar Ferreira, the donation will be of vital assistance to the organization of the special groups. Ferreira recalled that, since the beginning of this Administration, 62 thousand workers have been set free.

Pereira, the director of the ILO, points to impunity as the chief cause of slavery in Brazil. "Poverty is not the reason for slave-like labor, but, rather, the facility encountered by those who commit this type of crime," Pereira judges. According to him, the ILO has accompanied with "great attention" the investigations into the murder of three labor inspectors and their driver six months ago in Unaí (Minas Gerais). "It is essential that this process lead to the imprisonment of those who ordered the crime."

For the ILO director, Brazil made progress by recognizing slavery as a present-day problem and by instituting a Plan to Erradicate Slave Labor. "Now it is time to combat impunity with severity and rigor," Pereira recommended. "In the wealthier countries that were able to eliminate slavery, the penalty for this type of crime varies from 12 to 30 years."

The National Plan to Erradicate Slave Labor was launched by President Lula in March, 2003.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Juliana Cézar
Translator: David Silberstein
30/07/2004