According to a statement from the Brazilian labor prosecutor’s office, BYD and the contractor Jinjiang Group have agreed to provide assistance to the 163 affected workers.
The workers are accommodated in hotels until an agreement is reached to terminate their contract.
Prosecutors have not released details about how they came to that conclusion.
Jinjiang has previously rejected Brazilian authorities’ assessment that workers at the site in Bahia state were working in “slavery-like conditions”. According to the company, this representation is inaccurate and due to translational misunderstandings.
BYD initially claimed to have severed ties with Jinjiang. However, a company executive later accused “foreign forces” and some Chinese media of deliberately defaming Chinese brands and the country and undermining the relationship between China and Brazil.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it remained in contact with the Brazilian side in order to manage the situation. They added that China protects workers’ rights and requires Chinese companies to operate in accordance with the law.
The case has become a symbol of China’s growing influence in Brazil. BYD invested 620 million dollars in setting up the factory complex in Bahia, which will initially produce 150,000 cars. Almost one in five of the cars sold by the company outside China in the first 11 months of 2024 were sold in Brazil.
The investigation draws unwanted attention to BYD, which is seeking global expansion. The company is expected to outsell Ford and Honda globally this year, and has made extraordinary expansions both domestically and abroad.
The case also sparked a debate on Chinese social media about workers’ rights. According to several netizens, the living conditions of Brazilian workers are similar to those experienced on Chinese construction sites. Videos released by Brazilian prosecutors show bunk beds without mattresses, and authorities say the workers worked excessively long hours, sometimes seven days a week, in degrading conditions. In Brazil, “conditions similar to slavery” include forced labor, but also include degrading working conditions, long working hours that endanger workers’ health, debt slavery, and any work that violates human dignity.
Source: Reuters
Cover image source: Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Source: www.portfolio.hu
