The health of Haitian immigrant workers in Mato Grosso, Brazil: vulnerabilities and risks

The relationships among immigration, health, work and environment are explored with the aim of analyzing the insertion of Haitian immigrants in the productive processes of Mato Grosso, highlighting health risks and socioenvironmental vulnerabilities. An action research study was carried out in conjunction with the Haitian community, social organizations and State institutions. In 2014 and 2015, a questionnaire was applied among the Haitian population of the city of Cuiaba (capital state of Mato Grosso) to characterize living and working conditions. In addition, data from different institutions and the registry of employers that submitted workers to conditions of modern-day slavery were analyzed. The results include 2,151 Haitian workers involved in the formal labor market in 2014, distributed in 27 municipalities of Mato Grosso. Two economic sectors in particular absorbed Haitian workers: transformative industries (especially meat processing plants) and civil construction. Among the 452 Haitians interviewed, 52.7% were working and 26.5% reported a workweek longer than 48 hours. The study shows the fragility of the social insertion of this population, expressed through the presence of Haitians in areas and productive processes of high social risk.