China boasts of make cheap electric carswell equipped and equipped with high technology. It achieves this by controlling the entire value chain, including battery manufacturing, and thanks to state investment. But also having little respect for labor rights. Or even human rights in general. This has been reported by several reports.
In Brazil they just took out BYD the colors for this reason. China’s largest electric car manufacturer is building a factory in this Latin American giant and the country’s authorities have denounced that More than 150 employees work in “slavery-like conditions”.
They sleep next to the factory, overcrowded and without mattresses, working many more hours than allowed.
To avoid the new tariffs that are being imposed in Europe or the US, BYD is building factories in other countries. It has plants planned in Türkiye, Hungary and a already operational in Thailand. He is also doing the same in Brazilwhere tariffs will rise from the current 18% to 35% in 2026.
BYD is refurbishing a former Ford factory in Camaçari, located in the state of Bahia. There it aims to produce 150,000 electric cars per year and is expected to be ready in 2025. But it may be delayed: it has just broken the contract with one of the subcontractors in charge of this task, Jinjiang Construction, after running into labor authorities. Brazilians.
“Extremely degrading” conditions and “possible forced labor.” The factory has been investigated by the Brazilian government. And what was discovered there does not leave either BYD or the Chinese construction company Jinjiang Construction Group. Firstly, they claim that The 163 workers hired by this company work more hours than allowed due to Brazilian labor regulations and sometimes without days off, seven days a week. But it’s not the most serious thing.
It is alleged that they do so in “extremely degrading” conditions. The hired workers are Chinese and residences have had to be set up next to the factory. It is noted that they are overcrowded in dormitories with beds without mattresses and not enough bathrooms provided and sanitary. Furthermore, adequate security measures are not applied either, which, added to the long and exhausting days, has caused work accidents.
Furthermore, the Brazilian Executive claims to have found evidence of possible forced labor: they point out that the workers had to request permission to leave the complex where they are staying and that at least 107 had their passports held by Jinjiang Construction.
And more similar practices could be uncovered with the rest of the companies that are working on this future BYD factory: “As we have discovered a very serious situation, we continue to investigate the other contractors,” says Liane Durão, labor inspector. according to the Financial Times.
Immediate dismissal, but “slander Chinese brands.” After this situation became public, BYD has chosen to cut ties with this construction company. BYD Brazil assures that the firm has “zero tolerance for any lack of respect for Brazilian law and human dignity.” So: “Consequently, the company has decided to immediately terminate the contract with the contractor for part of the works”.
Meanwhile, Jinjiang denies that this is the case. According to Reutersthe company’s official account has published on the Weibo social network that what was described by the Brazilian authorities, indicating the employees as “enslaved”, did not conform to reality or “consistent facts.” Also that it has been exaggerated due to a translation error.
“The fact that being unfairly labeled as ‘enslaved’ has made our employees feel that their dignity has been insulted and their human rights violated, which seriously damages the dignity of the Chinese people. “We have signed a joint letter to express our true feelings,” he adds on Weibo.
They also defend that they have not actually retained the passports, but that the 107 employees had voluntarily submitted this document so that the company could manage the requests for the temporary work certificate. And they publish a video with one of the workers reading the aforementioned letter, which was signed by all Jinjiang Construction employees in this factory. “We are very happy to come to Camaçari to work.”
Even though BYD has formally announced the end of the contract with this construction company, Li Yunfei, general director of brand and public relations of the Chinese firm, also accused on this social network “foreign forces”, and some Chinese media, of “deliberately defaming Chinese brands and the country and to undermine the relationship between China and Brazil.
Gallery of a cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Manufacture cheap electric cars, violating labor and fundamental rights
It is not the first time that BYD is accused of not respecting human and labor rights. In a recent Amnesty International report was the brand that worst rating obtained in transparency in its supply chains. Especially with batteries.
BYD does not make public the smelters, refineries or mines it uses to obtain raw materials for the batteries of its electric cars, while others like Geely do so secretly. According to this organization, this lack of transparency increases the probability that the extraction of critical components such as cobalt or nickel was being carried out under conditions that violate essential rights.
Amnesty International itself has published numerous reports on how things are going exploiting indigenous people to extract cobaltincluding children, who work in unsafe conditions. And a Bloomerg investigation brought to light an accident in a nickel mine in Indonesia, after more than 20 workers died in a fire: they were cleaning a submerged arc furnace with safety conditions conspicuous by their absence.
Although it is not something exclusive to BYD, it also applies to workers in its factories in China: eternal hours and extremely low salaries are generally the way of working of Chinese brands to achieve maximum profitability. For example, according to a Reuters reportBYD announced last summer a position in one of its factories for a salary well below the minimum wage: 2,360 yuan per month (about 300 euros)when the minimum monthly payment in China is set at almost 1,500 euros at the exchange rate.
To control the entire electric car value chain, Chinese brands use many suppliers and subcontractors. And the desire to reduce costs to maintain competitive prices means cuts in salaries and security for the millions of employees who make it possible.
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Source: www.motorpasion.com
