The Federal Public Tax Administration in Argentina (AFIP), through the General Directorate of Social Security Resources (DGSESO), conducted operations in rural establishments in Salta, where 31 people were found in conditions of labor exploitation, and 3 children were presumed victims of child labor.
The procedures were carried out in fields dedicated to the production of vegetables and sugar cane, in the Salta departments of Anta and San Martín. In the sugar cane field, workers, along with their families, would travel from a town in Bolivia to work and live in precarious conditions from Monday to Friday. They lacked basic facilities such as toilets and running water, conducting their needs outdoors.
In the second field, dedicated to vegetable production, workers lived in overcrowded conditions, sleeping on mattresses on the floor supported by a base of wooden crates.
The operations revealed the presence of 14-year-old children performing tasks typically done by adults. In light of these findings, the AFIP filed criminal complaints for human trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation, reduction to servitude, and child labor with the Salta federal court.
Furthermore, the appropriate referral was made to the Provincial Commission for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor (COPRETI).
