“Brazilian officials have found 163 Chinese nationals working in slave-like conditions at a construction site at a factory owned by Chinese electric car maker BYD in Bahia state, Brazil.”, — write: epravda.com.ua
Brazilian officials found 163 Chinese nationals working in slave-like conditions at the construction site of a factory owned by the Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD in the state of Bahia, Brazil, Reuters reported with reference to the local prosecutor’s office. According to authorities, the workers were hired in China by another company and smuggled to Brazil. They worked overtime, exceeding the hours allowed by Brazilian law, sometimes seven days straight without days off. They were kept in so-called “humiliating conditions” in their places of residence, as well as allowed other violations of labor rights. Advertisement: The BYD company has not yet provided comments to journalists’ requests. The labor authorities did not disclose the names of the companies involved in hiring the workers. In Brazil, the concept of “slave-like conditions” includes not only forced labor, but also exploitation through debt dependence, degrading working conditions, excessive hours of work that pose a health risk, or any work that violates human dignity . According to labor inspector Liana Durao, the workers had to obtain permission to leave their place of residence, and at least 107 of them had their passports confiscated by their employer. She also noted that the conditions at the work site were dangerous.