We welcome the recommitment of the Ministry of Labor and Employment through the Brazilian National Coffee Roundtable to ensuring decent work...

The KnowTheChain study, conducted in partnership with ADERE-MG (Articulação dos Empregados Rurais do Estado de Minas Gerais), highlights the real human and labour rights challenges facing the Brazilian coffee sector... The testimony of these 24 workers is stark, with each worker reporting on average five indicators of forced labour. We know that these incidents are not isolated. Official data shows that hundreds of workers have been rescued from conditions analogous to slavery in Brazil’s coffee sector in recent years, with Minas Gerais home to a significant share of the cases. ADERE-MG's voice is essential to any resolution.

The solutions to these challenges require a truly multi-stakeholder approach... It is important that the Ministry of Labor and Employment and National Coffee Council work together with civil society organisations like ADERE-MG in their tireless efforts to free workers from slavery and exploitation...

We are committed to constructive dialogue with the Ministry and National Coffee Roundtable as we work collectively to improve conditions for coffee workers and to ensure dignified work and livelihoods in the sector for generations to come.