Brazilian prosecutors said Tuesday they have rescued more than 160 Chinese nationals from “slavery-like conditions.”
Workers were building a factory for Chinese automaker BYD in Camacari, in Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia.
What do we know about workers’ conditions?
Since November, Bahia’s Ministry of Public Works said it had “identified 163 workers who appear to be in slave-like conditions.”
The ministry said workers were placed in “worrying conditions of precarity” and faced “degrading working conditions.”
“In one accommodation, workers slept on beds without mattresses and had no cupboards for their personal belongings, which were mixed with food supplies,” the ministry said, adding that there was only one for every 31 workers. There was a toilet.
The ministry also said it suspected that “forced labour” had taken place, as workers’ passports were confiscated and 60% of their wages were kept.
Those who leave their jobs will be forced to pay the company for their airfare and return tickets from China, the statement said.
BYD broke ties with the contractor
BYD’s Brazilian subsidiary said in a statement that it had “severed ties with immediate effect” with Jinjiang Construction Brazil, a contractor responsible for work at the site, and was “studying other appropriate measures.”
The subsidiary said it “does not tolerate violations of Brazilian law and human dignity.” It said it was revising conditions at the site and told contractors that “adjustments” would have to be made.
It said it had immediately shifted 163 workers to stay in hotels in the area for the time being.
SDI/WD (AP, AFP, LUSA)