ILO and Ministry of Labour hosts a delegation of Brasilian labour inspectors to share experiences in addressing child labour and forced labour and developing labour inspection systems for hard to reach sectors

The ILO acknowledges that Brazil is well-suited to share its good practices with labour inspectorates around the world through interventions that reflect not only the enforcement of the laws, but also include innovative legal and technical solutions that also work as positive incentives for companies to comply with the laws. Experiences running this scheme as well as other initiatives in the area of child labour and how to organize inspections in hard to reach areas will be shared during the visit. The exchange is supported by the ILO-IPEC and TRIANGLE project working in the area of child labour, forced labour and migrant protection and welfare in Thailand.

The ILO Thailand, Ministry of Labour, Thailand and Ministry of Labour and Employment of Brazil will have series of technical meetings in Thailand between 19-22 February 2013 for Sharing Experiences and Innovations between the two countries.

The series of meetings are an outcome of a labour inspection management workshop that was organized between the ILO Thailand through its ILO-IPEC and TRIANGLE programmes in June 2012 and subsequent discussions on how to continue ILO’s and MOL’s collaboration to strengthen protection for vulnerable workers, including migrant workers, young workers and workers in hard to reach sectors such as fishing and agriculture.

The team from Brazil comprises officials experienced in inspections and raids of workplaces where forced labour and child labour is suspected of occurring, including in the maritime sector.

The DLPW and ILO will organize a workshop for the Brazilian delegation to share their experiences and innovations in labour inspection. In order to ensure that their presentations take into account the specific interests of the DLPW and the Thai context, the workshop will be preceded by a series of meetings with the central and provincial authorities, industry and NGOs.

The Brazilian Experience


The ILO acknowledges that Brazil is well-suited to share its good practices with labour inspectorates around the world through interventions that reflect not only the enforcement of the laws, but also include innovative legal and technical solutions that also work as positive incentives for companies to comply with the laws.

Among the key measures adopted by Brazil in the fight against forced labour for instance was the creation of a Special Mobile Inspection Group (GEFM) in 1995, under the Ministry of Labour. The GEFM combines the efforts of specially trained and equipped labour inspectors, labour prosecutors and police officers. Other activities have included the development of a database for the Labour Inspection Secretariat, the drafting of state-level plans of action against slave labour, and training of the judiciary and law enforcement agents in those parts of Brazil where the incidence of forced labour is most severe.

Between 1995 and 2010, more than 39,000 slave workers were rescued by the GEFM. In 2010, it inspected 305 farms, releasing 2,617 slave workers. The total compensation paid to these workers was 8.7 million Reais (about US$5.2 million). Since 1995, the total compensation paid to freed workers is over 62 million Reais (about US$37.1 million), with a significant growth in the amount of compensation paid each year over the period.

Experiences running this scheme as well as other initiatives in the area of child labour and how to organize inspections in hard to reach areas will be shared during the visit.

The exchange is supported by the ILO-IPEC and TRIANGLE project working in the area of child labour, forced labour and migrant protection and welfare in Thailand.

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ILO-IPEC Thailand

The ILO-IPEC project (2010-2014) in Thailand aims to address child labour and forced labour in shrimp and seafood processing areas and to help create an industry that is free of child labour and forced labour and offers decent working conditions and opportunities to Thai and migrant workers. Special attention is given to the situation of Thai and migrant children at risk of entering or/and involved in hazardous child labour. The ILO-IPEC programme is financed by the US Department of Labour.