São Paulo (AP) – Brazilian prosecutors said Tuesday they are prosecuting Chinese electric vehicle giant Biante and two contractors for alleging use of workers and engaging in international human trafficking under slave-like labor conditions.
The Labor Attorney's Office of Bahia State University said in a statement that they are seeking damages of 257 million Brazilian Realas ($50 million), from China's King Kong Angle Architecture Brazil and Tecmonta Equipmentamentoss intelligences.
The lawsuit stems from an investigation that rescued 220 Chinese workers from the construction site of the new BYD factory in Camaçari City last year. Prosecutors said the workers brought them to Brazil with false excuses and visas that match their jobs.
“Working conditions were extremely downgraded. Five settlements were retained by Bied, Jinjiang and Tecmonta. Some workers slept in beds without mattresses and joined their food with their personal belongings with food.” “Very few bathrooms were not assigned gender. In one of the settlements, there were 31 toilets, forcing workers to wake up at 4 a.m. because of their personal hygiene.”
Byd did not comment after the Associated Press request. In December, a spokesman for the Chinese automaker opposed reports of bad conditions at Brazilian construction sites, saying the allegations were intended to “smear” Chinese and Chinese brands.
