"Volkswagen and MPT fail to reach an agreement on compensation for slave labor", 03 October 2022

...Representatives of Volkswagen do Brasil and the Ministry of Public Works (MPT) disagreed about what the company should compensate for cases involving slave labor, in the 1970s and 1980s, on a farm in Pará.

After a standoff at the hearing on Thursday (29), a new meeting was scheduled for November 29, again at the MPT headquarters in São Paulo. This was the second meeting to discuss the issue – the first was held on June 14, at the Office of the Attorney General (PGT), in Brasília.

In a statement, the Labor MP said once again that he has highlighted during the hearing the responsibility of the company for the serious violation of human rights committed in the farm. When contacted, Volkswagen said it does not comment on ongoing processes.

The process began in 2019, when the MPT received documents about the submission of workers to poor working conditions at Fazenda Vale do Rio Cristalino, in Pará, between 1974 and 1986...

According to the investigation, violations included lack of treatment in malaria cases; prohibition to leave the farm due to weapons tracking or debt to the company; and houses placed in dirty areas, without access to drinking water and dangerous food.

The place was better known as the Volkswagen Farm and had about 300 direct employees of administrative activities, but logging and forestry services were carried out by workers without an employment relationship...