- Convoy raids Piauí for carnauba wax slave-like labour
- Labour inspectors uncover hazardous conditions in carnauba wax industry
- Challenges persist in regulating carnauba wax production chain
Seven vehicles are proceeding in a convoy through the Caatinga, an arid region of Piauí characterised by dusty, parched land and sparse, frequently thorny vegetation.
Prosecutors, federal police investigators, and personnel from the labour ministry are included in the convoy. This marks the conclusion of extensive clandestine investigations conducted on the ground regarding working conditions within the carnauba wax sector.
Raider Gislene Melo dos Santos Stacholski is in charge. She is a member of a mobile deployment unit that conducts raids to rescue individuals who are being forced to labour under conditions reminiscent of human slavery in Brazil.
After eleven years of doing so, carnauba plantations occupy a significant portion of her time.
Gislene explained that harvesting carnauba is an uphill task due to the northeast’s demanding working conditions, including scorching heat. It is laborious, manual labour requiring the use of hand instruments.
Carnauba palm trees are widespread throughout Piauí, the largest wax producer globally, and several adjacent states. Approximately 500,000 Brazilians are employed in the industry, which harvests wax under universally challenging conditions.
According to data from the Brazilian government, 114 labourers were rescued from carnauba plantations in 2018, the highest number in nine years. As evidenced by the 3,190 rescues, which represent the highest number since 2009, the prevalence of slave-like labour is growing across industries.
The penal code of Brazil encompasses not only forced labour but also debt bondage, deplorable working conditions, and extended work hours that endanger the health of workers as definitions of slavery.
As per the International Labour Organisation, such circumstances are prevalent in rural regions of Brazil and exhibit a strong correlation with poverty.
Following three hours of travel, we reach an accommodation building with ceilings that are, in some areas, so low that it is impossible to stand. Walls exhibiting deteriorating plaster and exposed electrical outlets are present. Pigs lark in the wastewater that is discarded from the domestic environment.
We discover, a short distance away, the majority of the employees seeking shade from the midday sun while seated beneath a large tree.
“Where is the authority?” Gislene inquires. Specific individuals mutter a name. “EDMILSON STRAWS” is printed on the green T-shirts worn by others, which reveal the truth. However, Edmilson is not in sight.
Inspectors conduct individual interviews with the males. Officially, only two out of nineteen are recorded. The remaining labourers earn 70 reais ($14; £11) per day in cash-in-hand compensation, which is hardly sufficient to support them throughout the year since they frequently tend to their crops outside of harvest season.
“The temperature is unbearably high,” Irismar Pereira, an unregistered labourer, exclaims. We stop for a bit because otherwise the sun would kill us – we can only cope with so much.
Arboreal venom
Gislene observed that a plastic water container bearing the imprint “only with medical prescription” was filled with water, suggesting the employees were using an expired medication bottle.
After consuming poultry feet and rice for lunch, the men return to their labours. The leaves atop the palms were removed utilising scythes manufactured by hand and affixed to the extremity of a lengthy bamboo pole.
The Tupi indigenous language refers to the carnauba palm as the “tree of thorns.” Gloves are required to prevent injury.
Multiple employees claim they were not provided with safety equipment: José Airton explains to the officers, “The boss purchases protective equipment for you if you are registered.” “But in my case, I had to buy my own.”
The work is hazardous and demanding, and the inspectors note that the employees need to receive more.
Upon returning to the lodging complex, the supervisor, Edmilson da Silva Montes, has materialised. He is irate that he was apprehended.
“The government needs to give small producers like me more chance,” he said. “I have been engaged in a struggle for survival for a considerable duration. The production expenses for this wax exceed the amount that I am compensated.
For fifteen infractions, including slave-like labour conditions, failing to register workers, inadequate provision of work attire, absence of potable water, unsafe electrical supply, unauthorised worker contracting, substandard housing, and unhygienic conditions, Gislene hands him a fine of $30,000.
However, Edmilson remains steadfast in his commitment to his work, even though he has been apprehended for the third time.
Following a debriefing, Gislene notified the employees that they may return home. However, despite the deplorable working conditions, few are content; this is the only way to earn a living.
Authorities assert that the high level of informality in the industry makes it challenging to trace carnauba wax back to large corporations.
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Aware of the number of workers they were rescuing from difficult conditions, the labour ministry requested in 2016 that the five largest wax processing companies sign an agreement promising to improve the supply chain and eliminate this informality.
The largest processor to be signed is Brasil Ceras, an organisation whose clientele includes L’Óreal. As per Brazilian authorities, producers who have been implicated in labour practices akin to slavery claim to have supplied wax to Brasil Ceras, notwithstanding the company’s adherence to the agreement signed with authorities. However, no paper trace exists connecting these manufacturers to Brasil Ceras.
According to the Ministry of Labour, one possible explanation is that family-owned small wax producers are not legally required to maintain a paper trace when selling their products. Brasil Ceras states that it only purchases from families and businesses that can provide evidence of labour law compliance.
