A contractor for Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD on Thursday denied claims that Chinese nationals were working in “slavery-like conditions” at a construction site for the carmaker’s factory in Brazil.
On Tuesday, a task force led by Brazilian prosecutors said it had rescued 163 Chinese nationals who were working in “slavery-like” conditions at BYD’s construction site in northeastern Brazil.
The dorms for the construction workers had beds with no mattresses and no space for their personal belongings, according to video footage released by Brazilian officials.
Jinjiang Group, the BYD contractor, had taken the workers’ passports and was withholding 60% of their wages, prosecutors said.
Construction workers who tried to quit would have to repay the company for their flight from China to Brazil, and for their return ticket, according to officials.
Jinjiang Group chalked up the slavery accusations to a translation faux pas and said the claims had no basis in fact.
“Being unjustly labeled as ‘enslaved’ has made our employees feel that their dignity has been insulted and their human rights violated, seriously hurting the dignity of the Chinese people,” Jinjiang said Thursday in a post on Weibo, a popular microblogging platform in China.
Jinjiang said it signed a joint letter with the workers dismissing the slavery claims.
BYD did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
On Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the Chinese embassy in Brazil was working with Brazilian officials to verify the claims.
At the time, BYD said it had cut ties with the contractor who hired the workers and that it was working with Brazilian authorities on the issue.
Li Yunfei, BYD’s general manager of branding and public relations, later reposted Jinjiang’s statement on Weibo. He slammed “foreign forces” and Chinese media outlets for leading a smear campaign against “Chinese brands and the country.”
BYD has been building the Brazilian factory with plans to produce 150,000 cars annually and start production in 2024 or early 2025.
The massive factory comes as Brazil plans to hike tariffs on imported EVs to 35% from 18% in 2026.
Jinjiang said the slavery accusations arose from cultural and language misunderstandings, and claimed Brazilian officials had asked “suggestive” questions.
The contractor posted a video showing a group of Chinese workers reading the letter Jinjiang claimed they jointly signed.
An unidentified Chinese worker in the video said they “are very happy” to work at the site and said the workers are “complying with laws and regulations.”
The letter claimed more than 100 workers had voluntarily handed over their passports to Jinjiang for help applying for a temporary ID in Brazil – countering Brazilian officials claims’ that the company had withheld the passports from workers.
With Post wires
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