The China electric vehicle (EV) behemoth BYD and two of its contractors are being sued by Brazilian prosecutors for allegedly facilitating human trafficking and creating “analogous to slavery” circumstances at a factory building site in the nation.
Following an anonymous complaint, the state of Bahia’s Public Labour Prosecutor’s Office (MPT) launched an inquiry, which rescued 220 Chinese labourers.
The MPT is suing the three businesses for damages of 257 million Brazilian reais ($45.5 million; £33.7 million). BYD did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment, but the company has stated in the past that it has “zero tolerance for violations of human rights and labour laws.
Workers were discovered living in small quarters with “minimum comfort and hygiene conditions” inside the factory, which prompted authorities to suspend building late last year, according to the MPT.
According to a statement, 31 individuals shared a single loo, and several employees slept on beds without mattresses. Additionally, building site workers were accused by the MPT of having their passports seized and working under “employment contracts with illegal clauses, exhausting work hours, and no weekly rest.
The workers faced exorbitant charges to cancel their contracts, according to the prosecutors, and up to 70% of their income were withheld. Brazilian law defines “slavery-like conditions” as labour that impairs human dignity and debt bondage.
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