The law prohibits all forms of forced or bonded labor, including by children; however, such practices still existed, affecting both adults and children. Young children "adopted" by families worked under a kind of indentured servitude, and homeless children were made to beg by adults (see Section 5). Trafficking in women and children, particularly for purposes of prostitution, existed (see Section 6.f.).

The FENATRAZONAS noted that mandatory overtime in the FTZ factories was a common practice. Some workers reported that their employers locked factory doors with chains so they could not leave, and took incentive pay away from or fired those who refused to work overtime. For example, many companies used an incentive system in which a team of 12 to 15 persons was given a quota to fill by the end of the week, in order to receive extra benefits. Most teams were unable to fill the quota to receive the benefits and were not paid overtime pay for the extra time they put in to attempt to fill the quota. Union officials stated that newly hired workers were not informed that overtime was optional.