Chinese workers trafficked in Brazil: the BYD controversy grows

A controversy has erupted in Brazil, a key foreign market for Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD. Brazilian labour authorities have reported that Chinese workers at a BYD factory site in Bahia were victims of human trafficking and worked in conditions resembling slavery. This incident increases tensions in Sino-Brazilian relations and brings to the fore the issue of working conditions of Chinese workers on foreign projects.

Brazilian labor authorities announced on Thursday that Chinese laborers working on the construction of a $BY6.FBYD factory in Bahia were victims of human trafficking. The factory is being built by BYD in partnership with Chinese construction company Jinjiang Group. After negotiations with Brazilian authorities, the two companies have agreed to provide accommodation for 163 workers in hotels until an agreement is reached to terminate their labour contracts.

The prosecutor's office said the workers lived in substandard conditions, sleeping on beds without…