Under slave conditions, without a visa: 163 Chinese workers were rescued from a construction site in Brazil

Last updated: December 28, 2024 | 12:56 p.m

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163 Chinese workers held in slave conditions in Brazil were moved to hotels last night (Thursday). According to the attorney general of Bahia state in northeastern Brazil, employees of Chinese electric car maker BYD were found detained at a construction site where they were being held in slavery conditions as victims of human trafficking.

Prosecutors in Brazil allege that the workers were held by Chinese contractor Jingjiang Group, but provided no evidence to support their claims about the slavery conditions in which they were held. It is not clear whether the Chinese workers were in Brazil with proper work visas. The Bahia state labor ministry did not respond to questions from The Associated Press.

Bahia’s attorney general revealed the details of the case on Monday, which exposed the serious damage to working conditions in China’s electric vehicle industry – an industry that has gained momentum over the past year and managed to sell more vehicles than most major manufacturers in China Western Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea The 163 personnel allegedly held in slavery conditions were found in Kamkari, a city of 300,000 people and about 1,600 km north of Rio de Janeiro.

The Chinese car manufacturer BYD (short for Build Your Dreams) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electric cars. Earlier this week, it announced that it was “terminating the contract with the contractor with immediate effect” and was “exploring other options.”