Brazilian authorities rescued 163 Chinese workers who were working in conditions analogous to slavery on the construction site of a BYD automotive factory, official sources reported this Monday.
The workers, who were identified during inspection work carried out since last November, work for the Jinjiang Group, one of the companies hired by the Chinese company for the construction of the factory in Camaçari, a municipality in the metropolitan area of Salvador, in the state from Bahia.
According to a statement from the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT) of Bahia, the conditions of the workers, both in the accommodation and on the construction site, were “precarious” and “degrading”, and 60% of their salaries were withheld. by the company, as well as their passports.
In the accommodations, they slept in beds without mattresses, they had nowhere to store their belongings and “the sanitary situation was especially critical, with only one bathroom for every 31 workers.”
In some feeding areas, kitchens were operating in “alarming conditions,” without cabinets for proper storage of food, some of which was found near bathrooms and in unsanitary conditions.
According to the supervisory body, the dining rooms were insufficient, so workers were forced to eat “in their own beds” and consume water “directly from the tap and without treatment.”
At the construction site, there were only eight chemical toilets for about 600 workers, and they were in a “deplorable” situation, as they lacked toilet paper, water, and adequate maintenance.
The authorities also noted that the workers were exposed “to intense solar radiation”, with “visible signs of skin damage”, and that several work accidents were recorded.
Likewise, they said that the situation of the workers is framed as “forced labor”, since in addition to the withholding of part of their salary and their passports, the workers faced serious punishments if they terminated the contract.
The workers could lose 40% of the salary that was withheld from them and would have to pay out of pocket for the return ticket to China, as well as reimburse the cost of the ticket with which they arrived in Brazil.
According to the MPT, some of the rescued workers remain in their accommodation, while another group is already in a hotel.
None of them will be able to return to work, and their employment contracts will be terminated.
Accommodations and construction works will also remain embargoed, and activities will not be able to be carried out until they are completely regularized by the respective inspection bodies.
A joint virtual hearing of the MPT and the Ministry of Labor is scheduled for this Thursday, December 26, so that BYD and Jinjiang present the necessary measures to guarantee minimum conditions for workers.
EFE questioned BYD on the issue, but until the publication of the note it did not respond. EFE
