Historic accusations

Possible slave labor: million-dollar lawsuit against VW

Workers were allegedly kept like slaves on a farm in the Amazon region during the 1970s and 1980s. (symbolic image)

(Bild: APA Pool/APA/dpa/Rolf Vennenbernd)

The Brazilian Public Prosecutor's Office for Labor Law has filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen do Brasil for possible slave labor on an Amazon farm in the 1970s and 1980s. In the civil lawsuit, the authority is demanding compensation payments of 165 million reais (around 26 million euros).

An out-of-court settlement failed in March last year.

Focus on conditions on the farm
The allegations relate to the conditions at the Fazenda Volkswagen farm, which belonged to a subsidiary of Volkswagen do Brasil. According to the investigators, armed guards and a system of debt bondage prevented the workers from leaving the farm. These are characteristics of modern slave labor.

"Conditions similar to slavery"
"Documents and testimonies prove the serious human rights violations at the fazenda during this time," said prosecutor Rafael Garcia Rodrigues. "The workers were subjected to slavery-like conditions through exhausting working hours, degrading working conditions and debt bondage."

With the Fazenda Volkswagen, the car manufacturer wanted to enter the meat business. The farm was founded in the 1970s and supported by the Brazilian military dictatorship. It was around 1400 square kilometers in size and had around 300 workers. The temporary workers responsible for clearing the land were not directly employed by the subsidiary.