When you think about historical heritage, the paperwork produced by Brazilian public institutions hardly comes to mind. The website "MPT15 Collection” shows that these institutions are not just a mere bureaucratic device, but can become an important source of research. The page gives access to a database that offers information on investigated labor infractions by the Public Ministry of Labor of the 15th region (MPT-15) – which includes Campinas and other 598 municipalities in the state of São Paulo.
The “MPT15 Collection” will be launched on September 24th, as part of the Permanent Forum “Working conditions in contemporary Brazil: public policies and institutional memory”, at the Unicamp Convention Center. The project is the result of an agreement signed between MPT-15, the Research Center for Social History of Culture at the State University of Campinas (Cecult/Unicamp) and the Edgard Leuenroth Archive (AEL/Unicamp) in 2014, with funding from the Foundation of Research Support for the State of São Paulo (Fapesp).
In total, there are 24.029 documents that record investigations carried out and completed between 1991 and 2010. The vast material gathered is not restricted to sentences. It includes everything from the day-to-day running of companies – such as time cards, contracts and conduct manuals, for example – to a bit of the personal history of each worker, through work cards, medical examinations and letters written in their own handwriting. . Also present are photographs, sketches of investigated areas and reports of fieldwork.
“The collection helps us understand how work relationships occur today in a privileged way: through the points of view of its protagonists. It allows you to know who these workers were, the activities they carried out, even how they lived. In addition to following the behind-the-scenes activities of an important public body such as the Public Ministry of Labor. These documents touch on topics such as slave labor, indigenous labor, minor labor, and so on. The research possibilities are countless”, says Humberto Celeste Innarelli, technical director of the Edgard Leuenroth Archive (AEL), where digital reproductions of administrative procedures are deposited.
As he explains, the website only contains basic information about documentation. It is a preliminary instrument that facilitates access to the collection. Consultation of the documents themselves can only be done in person at AEL by completing a registration form and signing a liability waiver for use of the documentation. “These procedures are closed activities. The final decision has already been made, with or without the conduct adjustment agreement. But as they contain sensitive information, they can only be consulted in the archive”, he notes.
Slave labor, a contemporary problem – For Cecult historian Silvia Lara, participant in the Thematic Project “Between slavery and the burden of freedom: workers and forms of labor exploitation in historical perspective”, which gave rise to the MPT15 Collection, the documents allow us to examine the relationships between slavery and freedom in the contemporary world: how these forms of labor exploitation are being thought of, are distinguished and even confused today.
A preliminary assessment of the material reveals an increase in crimes of reduction to a condition similar to slavery in recent years. Of the 170 cases directly related to “slave labor” or “slavery” present in the collection, 81 of them occurred between 2006 and 2010. One of the reasons for the higher incidence of cases in the period may be the increased social sensitivity towards the topic. But the study shows that the very definition of slave labor is still a nebulous subject for many of the public agents who are involved in combating these practices.
“The change in the terms of article 149 of the Penal Code carried out in 2003 is an important milestone, as it made it easier to identify slave labor, defining it more clearly. But what we can observe – even in a preliminary analysis – is that the topic is controversial. Complaints do not always end up confirming these practices and vice versa. In other words: there is a debate about what is or is not slave labor. It is necessary to have defined documentary series so that deeper studies can be carried out on this sad reality of labor relations in Brazil. In addition to the production of knowledge, this is important for the development of public policies to combat this practice”, points out the researcher.
Saved from destruction - Despite its importance, all the material that makes up the “MPT15 Collection” was at risk of disappearing. Not due to negligence or tragedy, as was the case with the fire at the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro on the 2nd, but with the consent of the legislation itself. Law 7.627, of November 10, 1987, authorizes the Labor Courts to eliminate “by incineration, mechanical destruction or other appropriate means, records that were completed more than five years ago, counting from the date of archiving of the process”. Following the same guideline, Brazilian legislation on archives also allows the deletion of documents. The practice is common and widespread across the country, without a more careful analysis of possible historical or even legal importance being carried out and without the requirement for the presence of historians on evaluation committees.
This collection was only preserved thanks to the suspension of documents elimination notices determined by the chief prosecutor of the Ministry of Labor of the 15th Region and the academic investment of researchers from Unicamp, who obtained public funding for digitization and organized a team of scholarship holders to describe this documentation. Today the originals are maintained by the MPT and the AEL is the depository of the digital copies that can be consulted by researchers. With the launch of the website, its organizers hope that other public institutions will also follow suit.
“The digitization of textual material is a good auxiliary resource in accessing and preserving document information. It is not the only one nor can it completely replace its physical preservation, as it has flaws and requires updates and management systems that are sometimes expensive – even more expensive than keeping documents on paper. The legislation on archives in Brazil is good, but the policy for preserving archival collections is precarious and its application is highly deficient”, concludes Lara.
Service:
The “MPT15 Collection” will be launched during the Forum “Working conditions in contemporary Brazil: public policies and institutional memory”, which will be held on September 24th, at the Unicamp Convention Center, which is located on Avenida Érico Veríssimo, 500. Registration is now open and can be completed until September 23rd through link. It is possible to access the “MPT15 Collection” through the link.
