Elderly woman will receive minimum wage pension after spending 72 years in a condition analogous to slavery

The Labor Court determined, on a preliminary basis, the payment of a monthly pension in the amount of one minimum wage (R$ 1,302) for the elderly woman who spent 72 years in a situation analogous to slavery in Rio de Janeiro. The 86-year-old black woman, who had her identity preserved, was rescued after an anonymous complaint, in March 2022.

The report did not locate the accused and the MPT-RJ (Ministério Público do Trabalho do Rio de Janeiro) also did not provide the name of the lawyer representing the family. But, according to labor inspector Alexandre Lyra, the family justified that domestic services were not work, but voluntary collaboration within the family.

This is the longest case of exploitation recorded in Brazil, since the beginning of the historical record in 1995, according to the agency. Over the past 27 years, more than 58,000 rescues have been carried out.

According to the MPT, the elderly woman worked for the same family for three generations, without receiving any salary or labor rights – vacation, 13th, FGTS, PIS.

The investigation also found that the employer held the worker’s personal documents and drew her retirement.

In addition to the pension, the court also determined the judicial seizure of the employer’s properties and vehicles and the immediate return of the documents and the amount that he confessed was the worker’s.

The MPT-RJ reported that, as it is a provisional decision, any appeal can only be made when there is a final sentence. “For the time being, the decision is preliminary, that is, it can be reversed at any time,” he said in a statement.

After the rescue, on March 15, 2022, the elderly woman was taken care of by the Rio City Hall. But, according to the Municipal Secretariat of Social Assistance, she has already left the shelter to which she was taken.

She was unmarried, had no children, and had lost contact with relatives. The report found, however, that the elderly woman managed to find her family members after the repercussions of the case.

remember the case

The elderly woman, who was born in Vassouras (RJ), on October 12, 1936, was rescued after a complaint was made by a neighbor of the house where she worked.

The action was carried out by the Fiscal Audit of Labor in Rio, with the participation of the Public Ministry of Labor and the Integrated Action program, which guarantees psychosocial care.

The inspection reported that the elderly woman’s parents worked on a farm in the interior of the state, which belonged to Geraldo and Yvone Mattos Maia. She moved into the couple’s home at the age of 12, where she stayed until they died. Afterwards, she went to their daughter’s house, and started to take care of the children as well.

In the house where he lived most of his life, in the Cachambi neighborhood, in the northern part of the Rio de Janeiro capital, the woman slept on an uncomfortable narrow sofa.

Already at the city hall shelter, she told the Sheet a bit of the relationship he had with the people he lived with.

“They were very good to me, I ate pizza, participated in parties. I was even the godmother of a wedding in Candelária. They travel abroad a lot, they brought gifts”, he said at the time, referring to his “family”.

The municipality’s Social Assistance reported that, in addition to regular medical consultations and psychological care, the routine at the temporary shelter included occupational activities in drawing workshops, walks and leisure time.