Brazil halts BYD factory over slave-like conditions revealed
The Brazilian authorities have halted the construction of the electric car factory by the Chinese corporation BYD after an inspection revealed slave-like working conditions. Workers slept on beds without mattresses, tables were missing, and the sanitary facilities were deplorable. The Chinese company addressed these allegations.
Officials from the Brazilian Ministry of Labour announced that they "freed 163 workers from slave-like conditions" from the Chinese construction company Jinjiang Construction Brazil. The Chinese corporation BYD had employed these workers in constructing the electric car factory in the city of Camaçari, in the state of Bahia, in eastern Brazil.
BYD: Slave-like working conditions during factory construction
Officials, with the support of police services, confirmed the appalling conditions during the construction of the BYD factory. It was found that the situation was "particularly critical," with only one toilet available for 31 workers, causing some workers to wake up at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time to stand in line and be ready to leave for work by 4:30 a.m. In one of the facilities, workers were sleeping on beds without mattresses and had no lockers for personal belongings. These were stored together with food items. Meals were eaten on beds as there were no tables.
BYD responded to these reports by moving the workers to hotels. The company assured that it conducted a "thorough review" of the subcontractor's working conditions and demanded improvements. Simultaneously, BYD spokesperson Li Yunfei, quoted by the Associated Press, strongly opposed the statement about "slave-like working conditions."
"Regarding the slandering of Chinese brands, slandering China, and attempts to undermine the friendship between China and Brazil, we have seen how significant foreign forces maliciously associate and deliberately slander," said the BYD spokesperson.
The subcontractor withheld the passports of workers who stopped working and 60% of their wages. These funds were to be deducted for tickets from China and the return to the country.
BYD is the largest electric car manufacturer in China, competing with American Tesla. Last year, the company announced investing nearly 500 billion dollars in Brazil to build a new electric car factory.
