Workers from Maranhão are rescued from precarious accommodation in Greater Fortaleza Nine of fifteen workers removed from precarious accommodation on a construction site, in Maranguape, in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza, returned to their homeland, Maranhão, between the night of this Thursday (23) and the morning of this Friday (24). The property had no water or furniture, and workers reported lack of payments and food. The other six employees have not yet decided which direction to take, which should happen in the coming days. The complaint about the degrading situation was made to the Union of Workers in the Civil Construction Industry of the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza (STICCRMF), which carried out the rescue last Tuesday (21). ? Follow the g1 Ceará channel on WhatsApp In a statement, Engeplan, the company responsible for building a condominium, stated that it hired a third-party company to carry out services at the construction site. The name of the outsourced company was not provided. "Accommodation was an option made by this company. As part of the construction site, the construction company adopts strict safety, health and activity inspection protocols, in accordance with current legislation and the required standards", stated Engeplan (Read the full note below). According to Nestor Bezerra, president of the Union of Workers in the Civil Construction Industry of the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza, after the rescue, the workers received the labor rights due, such as payment for days worked, proportional vacations and Profit Sharing (PLR). However, the union leader states that the agreement with the contracting company does not cease the reparatory measures that the union must seek in the Ceará courts. The expectation, according to Nestor, is that the Union will take the situation to court to compensate for moral damages and mistreatment. The union leader states that the workers received between R$7,000 and R$13,000 with the agreement made with the contracting company. According to the union, the work where the workers were working is a housing complex under Minha Casa Minha Vida, a Federal Government program. The group's return began on Thursday night, when two members of the removed group returned to their home state. This Friday, another seven also left Fortaleza heading to the state of Maranhão. Members of the Labor Tax Audit interviewed by g1 celebrated the removal of workers from the degrading situation. However, the technicians stated that the guarantee of labor rights to workers is fragile and runs the risk of not being followed to the letter. Workers did not have running water and depended on a deposit of dirty water. Disclosure/STICCRMF Rescue of workers According to Nestor Bezerra, the workers moved to Ceará after a job offer that guaranteed a salary and a house to live in. However, they had not been paid for around 20 days and lived without running water, adequate food and in a "degrading" situation. "When we arrived, we found the workers in a very degrading situation. It was a house with nothing, neither water nor stove. Just their hammocks and backpacks on the ground. Nine of these 15 were desperate because they had been threatened [by the construction manager]. They said they were going to set up a faction to kill them. They were desperate," Nestor reported to g1. The men were, on average, 30 years old. They worked in a project in Maranguape. According to the union responsible for the rescue, the company had hired a contractor to take care of this work. This would be the man responsible for leaving the victims in a vulnerable situation. The house where workers lived was dirty and without furniture. Disclosure/STICCRMF After the rescue, the group was taken to a police station in the city to register a police report (BO). In a statement, the Police Civil said that he is investigating the circumstances of the case: "The case was registered through a Police Report (BO), filed on Tuesday (21), by the Maranguape Civil Police Station." "We spoke with the police chief, who gave us all the support and sent a vehicle to collect their things because they were afraid to go to the house", stated Nestor In a statement, the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT-CE) said that it was aware of the case and, as a result, it was informed. "A Notice of Fact has already been launched to investigate the circumstances related to the incident." 'Only those who went to work ate' The kitchen was not equipped and they could not prepare food. Disclosure/STICCRMF According to Nestor Bezerra, the residence where the workers were located was close to the place of work, with no drinking water, furniture or basic food. of telephones shared between them. However, without access to Wi-Fi Internet and mobile networks, calls and messages became scarcer "When the company brings the worker, it is to provide all the conditions: breakfast, drinking water, water to shower. There was no drinking fountain, refrigerator, or running water in the house. They were at the mercy of their own fate," said the union president. According to him, the meals were provided by the construction contractor, but the man said that "only those who were going to work would eat." "They spent last Tuesday without eating," said Nestor. "We called the company, who said it would pay for their severance payments and the transfer to go home. From today until tomorrow, they will be making their payments. They came with the intention of earning their money and sending it to their family, but they were faced with this situation. One of them told me that he arrived here weighing 110 kilos, but now he weighs 87 kg." Workers had no furniture in the accommodation, they slept in hammocks and stored their clothes in suitcases and improvised clotheslines.