Late last year, we reported that Brazilian authorities had opened an investigation into BYD over reports of slavery at its contractors’ facilities in the country. We now have more details on what happened, and it doesn’t sound good.
Reuters reported on a labor contract that showed BYD contractor Jinjiang brought workers from China to northeast Brazil to work on the construction of a new EV factory. While they were paid up to $70 per ten-hour shift, more than double the Chinese minimum wage in many places, the company held workers’ passports and took hundreds of dollars as a deposit that could only be recovered after six months of work. Jinjiang also allowed most of the workers’ wages to flow directly back to China.
The contract was signed by one of the workers who was part of a group of 163 people rescued from what inspectors described as “slavery-like conditions.” It also apparently contains language putting it at odds with the labor laws in China and Brazil, including fines for swearing, walking around without a shirt, and the ability for Jinjiang to extend the contract for up to six months without consent.
Jinjiang has said the allegations are “off base,” but many see it differently. Lawyers called the contract’s clauses “textbook” examples of forced labor and noted that confiscating passports is also illegal under Chinese law.
Brazil is BYD’s largest market outside its home country of China, making this an even bigger deal, and it’s working hard to repair its image by sharing photos of new employee housing and dining facilities at the site. That said, while it promises to employ up to 20,000 local workers at the former Ford factory, the automaker is being charged with obstructing the labor investigation by failing to provide information on the freed workers’ lodging.
[Images: BYD]
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