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Article

18 Jun 2014

Author:
Joao Fellet, BBC (Brazil)

Brazil’s biggest builder accused of using 'slave labour'

Prosecutors in Brazil have begun legal action against a leading construction company, Odebrecht, accusing it of maintaining 500 Brazilian workers in "slave-like conditions" in Angola...They are demanding 500m reais ($220m; £130m) in compensation for workers. Odebrecht said it would only respond after being officially notified of the legal action...The prosecutor also notified the federal police and federal prosecutors about the legal action which could mean that company directors could also face criminal charges. According to documents filed by prosecutors, "workers, hundreds of them, were subjected to degrading working conditions incompatible with human dignity, and had their freedom curtailed, being deprived of their right to come and go"...The prosecutor says instead of asking the Brazilian embassy in Angola for work visas for the workers, the company asked for ordinary visas, which did not grant them the right to work...According to the legal documents, the workers were subjected to a number of risks in Angola, including imprisonment...

 

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