Latest news with #Camacari
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Brazil sues China's BYD over 'slavery' conditions on build site
Brazilian prosecutors are suing Chinese electric car giant BYD and two contracting companies for human trafficking and alleged slave labor conditions at a build site, according to legal documents seen by AFP Thursday. The case concerns 220 Chinese workers found last December in conditions "analogous to slavery" at a BYD plant under construction in Camacari, in the northeastern state of Bahia. Bahia's regional ministry for works (MPT) said in December it had found "degrading working conditions" at the site being built, expected to be BYD's largest electric car plant outside Asia. Workers slept without mattresses and, in one case, 31 people had to share a bathroom, it said. Laborers had "visible signs of skin damage" from working long hours under the sun. The MPT said it also suspected "forced labor," with illegal clauses in workers' contracts, passports confiscated and the employer withholding as much as 70 percent of their salary. Workers were monitored by armed guards. After the allegations were made public, BYD's Brazilian subsidiary said it had broken its contract with the Jinjiang contractor responsible for work on the site. Jinjiang denied the slavery allegation. The MPT is now seeking 257 million reais ($45.3 million) for "collective moral damages," as well as individual payments for each worker. The civil suit against BYD, Jinjiang and Tonghe Intelligent Equipment (now Tecmonta) was filed after the companies refused to sign a "conduct adjustment agreement" proposed by Brazilian authorities, the MPT said. On Thursday, BYD said in a statement it had collaborated with the MPT from the beginning, and "reaffirms its non-negotiable commitment to human and labor rights, guiding its activities by respecting Brazilian legislation and international labor protection standards." Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters Beijing "places great importance on protecting and safeguarding workers' legitimate rights and interests," and requires Chinese companies to "operate in compliance with laws and regulations."
Free Malaysia Today
6 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Brazil sues China's BYD over ‘slavery' conditions on build site
The case involved 220 Chinese workers found last December living in slavery-like conditions at a BYD construction site in Bahia. (BYD pic) RIO DE JENAIRO : Brazilian prosecutors are suing Chinese electric car giant BYD and two contracting companies for human trafficking and alleged slave labour conditions at a build site, according to legal documents seen by AFP Thursday. The case concerns 220 Chinese workers found last December in conditions 'analogous to slavery' at a BYD plant under construction in Camacari, in the northeastern state of Bahia. Bahia's regional ministry for works (MPT) said in December it had found 'degrading working conditions' at the site being built as BYD's largest electric car plant outside of Asia. Workers slept without mattresses and in one case had to share a bathroom between 31 of them, it said. Labourers had 'visible signs of skin damage' from working long hours under the sun. The MPT said it also suspected 'forced labour,' with illegal clauses in workers' contracts, passports confiscated and the employer withholding as much as 70% of their salary. Workers were monitored by armed guards. After the allegations were made public, BYD's Brazilian subsidiary said it had broken its contract with the Jinjiang subsidiary responsible for work on the site. Jinjiang denied the slavery allegation. The MPT is now seeking 257 million reais (US$45.3 million) for 'collective moral damages,' as well as individual payments for each worker. The civil suit against BYD, Jinjiang and Tonghe Intelligent Equipment (now Tecmonta) was filed after the companies refused to sign a 'conduct adjustment agreement' proposed by Brazilian authorities, the MPT said. China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Thursday that Beijing 'places great importance on protecting and safeguarding workers' legitimate rights and interests,' and requires Chinese companies to 'operate in compliance with laws and regulations.' BYD did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment Thursday.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Brazil sues Chinese electric carmaker BYD over ‘slave-like' conditions of workers
Brazilian prosecutors have filed a lawsuit accusing electric carmaker BYD of human trafficking and keeping its workers in 'slavery-like conditions' in its biggest market outside China. The suit seeks over £33m in moral damages from the Chinese EV giant as well as contractors JinJiang Construction Brazil and Tecmonta, according to a statement by Brazil 's Public Labour Prosecutor's Office, or MPT. The lawsuit comes on the heels of an investigation that led to the rescue of 220 Chinese workers from the construction site of BYD's new factory in Camacari city in the northeast of Brazil last December. The investigation found the Chinese workers were brought to Brazil under false pretences and their visas did not match their jobs. Prosecutors said the workers were found working in 'slavery-live conditions' and with "minimum comfort and hygiene', calling them victims of international human trafficking The workers were forced to sleep on beds that did not have mattresses and as many as 30 people shared a bathroom, MPT alleged. 'Working conditions were extremely degrading. Five settlements were kept by BYD, JinJiang and Tecmonta. Some workers slept on beds without mattresses and had their personal belongings alongside with their food,' it claimed. 'There were few bathrooms, which were not gender-assigned. In one of the settlements, there was one toilet for 31 people, forcing workers to wake up at 4am for their personal hygiene before their work.' MPT also claimed the workers were under "employment contracts with illegal clauses, exhausting work hours and no weekly rest'. The prosecutors are seeking to force the carmaker and the contractors to follow labour laws and fine them 50,000 Brazilian reais (£6,575) for each violation. This fine will be multiplied by the number of workers affected by the violation. BYD said it was cooperating with the prosecutors and would respond to the lawsuit in court. The company further said that it was committed to upholding human rights and respecting Brazilian and international labour protections. Fabio Leal, deputy labour prosecutor, said talks in late December with the three companies had failed to reach an agreement but did not explain why the talks collapsed. Mr Leal said the Chinese workers had all returned home and they would receive compensation from any payment received from the lawsuit. 'Our lawsuit is very well-founded, with a substantial amount of evidence provided during the investigation process,' he said, adding that a settlement was still possible but through the courts. The BYD factory in Camacari was set to be operational by March 2025, but the work was halted pending investigations. It was set to be BYD's first and biggest plant outside Asia. BYD, short for Build Your Dreams, is a major player in the electric vehicles market, producing both passenger vehicles and electric buses. The company has been seeking to expand in Brazil, which is its largest overseas market.
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Brazil sues China carmaker BYD over 'slave-like' conditions
Brazilian prosecutors are suing Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD and two of its contractors, saying they were responsible for human trafficking and conditions "analogous to slavery" at a factory construction site in the Public Labour Prosecutor's Office (MPT) in the state of Bahia says 220 Chinese workers were rescued after it began an investigation in response to an anonymous complaint. The MPT is seeking 257 million Brazilian reais ($45.5m; £33.7m) in damages from the three did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC but has previously said it has "zero tolerance for violations of human rights and labour laws." Authorities halted construction of the plant late last year after workers were found living in cramped accommodation with "minimum comfort and hygiene conditions", the MPT said. Some workers slept on beds without mattresses and one toilet was shared by 31 people, it said in a MPT also alleged that construction site staff had their passports confiscated and were working under "employment contracts with illegal clauses, exhausting work hours and no weekly rest."Prosecutors said the workers had up to 70% of their salaries withheld and faced high costs to terminate their contracts."Slavery-like conditions", as defined by Brazilian law, include debt bondage and work that violates human factory was being built in the city of Camacari in the north east of was scheduled to be operational by March 2025 and was set to be BYD's first EV plant outside of short for Build Your Dreams, is one of the world's largest EV makers. In April, it outsold Elon Musk's Tesla in Europe for the first time, according to car industry research firm Jato firm has been looking to increase is presence in Brazil, which is its largest overseas market. It first opened a factory in São Paulo in 2015, producing chassis for electric buses.
Al Jazeera
27-05-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Brazilian prosecutors sue Chinese carmaker BYD over labour conditions
Brazilian labour prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against the Chinese auto manufacturer BYD and two contractors over allegations of illegally trafficking labourers to live and work under conditions 'analogous to slavery'. On Tuesday, the prosecutors, charged with enforcing labour laws, said in a statement that they would seek 257 million reais ($45m) in damages from BYD as well as contractors China JinJiang Construction Brazil and Tecmonta Equipamentos Inteligentes. They accused the three companies of trafficking Chinese workers to build a BYD plant in Camacari, in the northeastern state of Bahia. There, the prosecutors allege that the companies subjected the workers to 'extremely degrading' conditions. 'In December last year, 220 Chinese workers were found to be in conditions analogous to slavery and victims of international human trafficking,' the statement said. The damages the prosecutors are seeking amount to a penalty of 50,000 reais ($8,867) per violation, multiplied by the number of workers affected, in addition to moral damages. The lawsuit is the result of a police raid in December 2024, during which authorities say they 'rescued' 163 Chinese workers from Jinjiang and 57 from Tecmonta. The prosecutors say the workers were victims of international human trafficking and were brought to Brazil with visas that did not fit their jobs. They also allege that conditions at the construction site left the labourers almost totally dependent on their employers, by withholding up to 70 percent of their wages and imposing high contract termination costs. Some of the workers even had their passports taken away, limiting their ability to leave, according to the prosecutors. The lawsuit also describes meagre living conditions, including some beds without mattresses. 'In one dormitory, only one toilet was identified for use by 31 people, forcing workers to wake up around 4am to wash themselves before starting their workday,' the prosecutors' statement notes. Brazil is the largest market for BYD outside China. The Chinese auto giant has said that it is committed to human rights, is cooperating with authorities and will respond to the lawsuit in court. A spokesman for the company said in December that allegations of poor working conditions were part of an effort to 'smear' China and Chinese companies. But the Brazilian labour prosecutors rejected the notion that their lawsuit was based on anti-Chinese sentiment. 'Our lawsuit is very well-founded, with a substantial amount of evidence provided during the investigation process,' deputy labour prosecutor Fabio Leal said in an interview. He stated that the workers, who have all returned to China, would receive any payments related to the lawsuit there, with the companies in Brazil responsible for providing proof of payment.
