Aurora winery apologizes to rescued people in RS – 03/03/2023 – Market

In an open letter to Brazilian society, the management of the Aurora winery said this Thursday (2nd) that it is ashamed of recent events involving its relationship with Fênix Prestação de Serviços, one of the two companies investigated for keeping workers in a situation similar to that of slavery in Bento Gonçalves, in Rio Grande do Sul.

“We learned from those who came before us that, without work, we would be nothing. Work is sacred. To betray this principle would be to betray our history and ourselves. However, even if involuntarily, we feel as if this is what we have done” , says an excerpt from the letter, published on the winery’s website.

The workers, who provided services for the Aurora, Salton and Cooperativa Garibaldi wineries, were in accommodation where they lived under threat and armed surveillance and from which they could only leave to work, according to the Public Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Labor and Employment. , who are investigating the case.

In the letter, Aurora apologizes to the workers, claims to repudiate the situation and says that exploitation is intolerable.

“The forehead of those who make Brazil happen, every day, at the expense of their honest sweat, should always be raised, proud, and never subjugated by the greed of a few”, says the text.

The winery also apologized to the “Brazilian people” and promised to review practices and adopt measures so that the investigated episode does not happen again.

According to the open letter, the company is working on a program of changes to qualify the relationship with partners and take control of all the production processes that involve it.

“We are here, with our minds and hearts open, starting all over again, if necessary, as our ancestors did when they landed here,” said the company, created by Italian immigrants at the beginning of the last century.

The three wineries had already released a statement saying that they repudiate human rights violations and that they were not aware of the situation.

The workers were rescued on Wednesday (22nd) and reported having been deceived by the promise of temporary employment, a salary of R$4,000, paid accommodation and meals.

According to the Public Ministry of Labor, legal representatives of the investigated companies presented this fifth documentation proving the payment of severance pay for the rescued workers, most of them from Bahia, where they returned. The values ​​were determined in an emergency conduct adjustment term.

ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) decided to suspend the participation of wineries in fairs, trade missions and promotional events until the investigations that investigate slave labor are concluded.

Councilman Sandro Fantinel (without party), who in a speech at the Chamber of Caxias do Sul (RS) advised businessmen and rural producers from Rio Grande do Sul to hire “clean employees”, “not those people up there” in reference to Bahians, is now a target impeachment proceedings for breach of parliamentary decorum. The unanimous decision was taken by the Legislature this Thursday.

“After a national turmoil, sinking the name of a person who never killed anyone, and simply uttered some undue words and apologized, my fellow councilors had no way of not approving”, reacted Fantinel.

In a video released on social media, the councilor apologized and claimed to have had a mental lapse when uttering words that do not represent what he thinks and feels.

“I record that I have a lot of appreciation for the people of Bahia and all of the North and Northeast of the country”, he said. “We are all the same and I am deeply sorry.”