Sugar Slaves: 1,108 freed, 14 in jail
Posted on July 24th, 2007 by Saulo Araujo
Posted on July 24th, 2007 by Saulo Araujo
Grassroots International blog
Much of the sweat that goes into cutting cane for sugar to eat and increasingly as a primary ingredient for ethanol comes from low-wage and slave (bonded) labor. This month, the Brazilian government freed 1,108 sugar cane cutters in the state of Pará in the Amazon region. In the western state of Mato Grosso, 14 farm workers from an ethanol producing plant were incarcerated for protesting the delay in payment of their salaries. The average salary of a sugar cane cutter is less than $ 300.00 per month. See http://www.grassrootsonline.org/blog/sugar-slaves-1-108-freed-14-jail
Much of the sweat that goes into cutting cane for sugar to eat and increasingly as a primary ingredient for ethanol comes from low-wage and slave (bonded) labor. This month, the Brazilian government freed 1,108 sugar cane cutters in the state of Pará in the Amazon region. In the western state of Mato Grosso, 14 farm workers from an ethanol producing plant were incarcerated for protesting the delay in payment of their salaries. The average salary of a sugar cane cutter is less than $ 300.00 per month. See http://www.grassrootsonline.org/blog/sugar-slaves-1-108-freed-14-jail