Since November, the MPT, together with other government agencies, carried out checks that led to the identification at a BYD factory in Camaçari, in the metropolitan region of Salvador
More than 160 Chinese workers were rescued “in slave-like conditions” at the construction site of a factory belonging to the electric car giant in Camaçari, in the metropolitan region of Salvador (), local authorities reported. The Brazilian branch of the Chinese automaker, BYD Auto do Brasil, announced, in a statement, on Monday night (23), that it terminated with immediate effect the contract of the outsourced company responsible for the work, Jinjiang Construction Brazil Ltda. The location in question is in Camaçari, in the state of Bahia, where BYD’s largest electric car factory outside of Asia is under construction.
Work was suspended on part of the site as determined by the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT) of Bahia. Since November, the MPT, together with other government agencies, has led to the identification of “163 workers in conditions similar to slavery at the outsourcing company Jinjiang, a service provider for BYD”. In the statement, the MPT denounced “an alarming situation of precariousness and degradation” for workers.
In one of the accommodations, the workers “slept in beds without mattresses and did not have cabinets to store their personal belongings, which were mixed with food materials”, he added. The MPT reported that the “sanitary situation was especially critical, with only one bathroom for every 31 workers, forcing them to wake up at 4am to form a queue and be able to get ready to leave for work at 5:30am”.
During the work, “workers were exposed to intense solar radiation, showing visible signs of skin damage”. The MPT also reported suspicions of “forced labor”, as workers from China “had their passports withheld” and their employer confiscated “60% of their wages”, leaving the workers “only 40% in Chinese currency”.
According to the MPT, a hearing was scheduled “for BYD and Jinjang to present the necessary measures to guarantee minimum accommodation conditions and also for conditions to be negotiated for the general regularization of what has already been detected”. BYD Auto do Brasil guaranteed that it “does not tolerate disrespect (…) to human dignity” and said it transferred the 163 workers to hotels in the region.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated this Wednesday (25) that its embassy and consulates in Brazil “are in contact with the Brazilian authorities to verify the situation and manage it appropriately”.
“The Chinese government has always attached the utmost importance to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers, and calls on Chinese companies to comply with the law and regulations,” said Chinese diplomacy spokeswoman Mao Ning in Beijing.
*With information from AFP
Published by Matheus Lopes
