> The Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE) has updated its so-called “Dirty List” of slave labor, a registry of employers who have been denounced for subjecting workers to conditions analogous to slavery. BYD was one of the names included on the list, due to the case of the 163 Chinese employees rescued in 2024 following an action by the Labor Prosecutor’s Office.
> The Ministry of Labor’s “dirty list,” published every six months, exposes employers convicted in the final administrative instance for using labor analogous to slavery.
> Offenders remain on the list for two years. It is possible to anticipate removal or avoid inclusion by signing a Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TAC), which requires a minimum compensation of 20 minimum wages to the victims and investment in assistance. In this case, they are transferred to the Registry of Employers in Conduct Adjustment, returning to the “dirty list” in case of non-compliance or recidivism. Individuals and legal entities included on the list are prohibited from receiving public funding.
> BYD’s inclusion comes even after an agreement between the manufacturer and the contractors involved with the Labor Prosecutor’s Office of Bahia to end the public civil action, which resulted in a payment of R$ 40 million. At the time, sources linked to the brand told QUATRO RODAS that the agreement was not an admission of guilt and that, since there was no trial, the Chinese manufacturer was not convicted.
> Contacted by QUATRO RODAS, BYD did not comment on its inclusion on the “blacklist.” The space remains open should the manufacturer decide to make a statement.
> The situation of Chinese workers became known in November 2024, after a report by Agência Pública brought to light several allegations of physical assaults, as well as images showing the conditions in which the employees lived on the site. One of the videos obtained by the agency shows one of the employees lying on the ground after, according to reports, being kicked in the back. This was reportedly recurrent, with foremen punishing delays in completing a task or disobeying orders with violence.
> The report showed much more, such as people drinking brackish water from puddles formed on the construction site and receiving food in buckets or coolers. Basic safety equipment is lacking , and many of the photos show barefoot workers. The bathrooms lacked even the most basic daily maintenance and are unfit for use.
> At the time, the Public Prosecutor’s Office had already visited the site with the Federal Police for an inspection, but they did not go to the accommodations. The investigation had already begun at that time. When the case came to light, BYD declared that it was outraged by the treatment given to the professionals from the outsourced construction companies and that “immediately, the company ordered that the aggressors be prohibited from working at the unit and demanded that the contractors take urgent measures to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.” Furthermore, the company said that it “is reinforcing its oversight of the construction site to ensure compliance with the law and respect for all professionals working there.”
> Almost a month later, the MPT (Public Prosecutor’s Office for Labor) carried out another action, shutting down part of the construction site and rescuing 163 Chinese workers . The federal agency says that the conditions were degrading in the four closed accommodations. In one of them, the beds had no mattresses and there was only one bathroom for the 31 Chinese workers (both sexes), in precarious hygienic conditions and which was also used to wash clothes. Throughout the construction site, there were eight chemical toilets for approximately 600 workers, without toilet paper, water, or adequate maintenance.
> Inspectors found food stored with construction materials and near bathrooms in unsanitary conditions. The report indicates that the Chinese were drinking untreated tap water.
> According to the Brazilian Labor Prosecutor’s Office (MPT), the employees paid a security deposit and had 60% of their salaries withheld, received only 40% in Chinese currency, faced excessive costs for contract termination, and had their passports retained by Jinjiang, the construction company responsible for the project. If an employee decided to terminate the contract, they would lose the security deposit and the withheld amounts, in addition to having to pay for their return ticket to China and reimburse the cost of the outbound ticket. The MPT states that this constitutes forced labor.
> “To give you an idea, if a worker tried to terminate their employment contract after six months, they would leave the country without effectively receiving anything for their work, since the deduction of the security deposit, the cost of the trip to Brazil, and the payment of the return ticket would, in practice, constitute a total confiscation of the amounts received by the workers throughout the employment relationship,” the report reveals.
> In response to the government’s action, BYD Brazil terminated its contract with Jinjiang and was considering other appropriate measures. The manufacturer also decided to transfer the 163 workers to hotels in the region, and reiterated that it was reviewing the working and living conditions of all employees, notifying the companies and making adjustments.
> On the 26th, a hearing was held with BYD, Jinjiang, and representatives from the Labor Prosecutor’s Office (MPT), the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE), the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU), and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. At the hearing, the MPT classified the situation as analogous to slavery.
> It was decided that the Federal Police will issue the National Migration Registry (RNM) and the Federal Revenue Service will issue CPF numbers (Brazilian taxpayer identification numbers) for the workers. With the documents in hand, payments related to contract terminations and compensation will be made. The companies will be required to purchase return tickets to China and pay a US$120 allowance to seven employees returning on January 1st.
> In December 2025, the MPT-BA (Public Prosecutor’s Office of Bahia) announced that it had reached an agreement with BYD and the construction companies for the payment of R$ 40 million. This ended the investigations and lawsuits against the companies.
> Check out the statement released by the Labor Prosecutor’s Office:
> “The Labor Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPT) has reached a judicial agreement with the car manufacturer BYD Auto do Brasil Ltda., China Jinjiang Construction Brazil Ltda., and Tecmonta Equipamentos Inteligentes Brasil Co. Ltda. in a public civil action (ACP) filed in May of this year. The agreement provides for the payment of R$ 40 million, with R$ 20 million for individual moral damages, directly allocated to the rescued workers, and another R$ 20 million for collective moral damages, which will be deposited into a judicial account for later allocation to institutions and/or funds to be indicated by the MPT. The agreement has been submitted to the Labor Court for approval, after which it will take immediate effect.”
> The case involves 224 Chinese workers found in conditions analogous to slavery and victims of international human trafficking in December 2024, during the construction of the BYD industrial plant in the municipality of Camaçari, Bahia. The workers were hired by the contractors Jinjiang and Tecmonta, which provided services exclusively to the automaker.
> According to the agreement, companies assume several obligations to act and refrain from acting related to labor protection, applicable to all establishments and locations where they conduct business activity. In case of non-compliance, companies will be subject to a fine of R$ 20,000 per affected worker and for each instance of non-compliance.
> Of the 224 workers, 61 had returned to China without receiving the severance pay due as a result of the rescue. The agreement stipulated the payment of severance pay, the amount corresponding to the FGTS (Brazilian employee severance fund), plus a 40% penalty, in addition to compensation for individual moral damages.
DoryBrightside on
Would anybody even believe me if I tried to feign shock?
gnomesvh on
Submission statement:
Relevant because of labour relations and how BYD conducts their growth around the world. The Brazilian government (very pro-BYD, it’s the current official state car) has officially named and shamed them in a way that no automaker in Brazil has done in recent years
3 Comments
Translation:
> The Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE) has updated its so-called “Dirty List” of slave labor, a registry of employers who have been denounced for subjecting workers to conditions analogous to slavery. BYD was one of the names included on the list, due to the case of the 163 Chinese employees rescued in 2024 following an action by the Labor Prosecutor’s Office.
> The Ministry of Labor’s “dirty list,” published every six months, exposes employers convicted in the final administrative instance for using labor analogous to slavery.
> Offenders remain on the list for two years. It is possible to anticipate removal or avoid inclusion by signing a Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TAC), which requires a minimum compensation of 20 minimum wages to the victims and investment in assistance. In this case, they are transferred to the Registry of Employers in Conduct Adjustment, returning to the “dirty list” in case of non-compliance or recidivism. Individuals and legal entities included on the list are prohibited from receiving public funding.
> BYD’s inclusion comes even after an agreement between the manufacturer and the contractors involved with the Labor Prosecutor’s Office of Bahia to end the public civil action, which resulted in a payment of R$ 40 million. At the time, sources linked to the brand told QUATRO RODAS that the agreement was not an admission of guilt and that, since there was no trial, the Chinese manufacturer was not convicted.
> Contacted by QUATRO RODAS, BYD did not comment on its inclusion on the “blacklist.” The space remains open should the manufacturer decide to make a statement.
> The situation of Chinese workers became known in November 2024, after a report by Agência Pública brought to light several allegations of physical assaults, as well as images showing the conditions in which the employees lived on the site. One of the videos obtained by the agency shows one of the employees lying on the ground after, according to reports, being kicked in the back. This was reportedly recurrent, with foremen punishing delays in completing a task or disobeying orders with violence.
> The report showed much more, such as people drinking brackish water from puddles formed on the construction site and receiving food in buckets or coolers. Basic safety equipment is lacking , and many of the photos show barefoot workers. The bathrooms lacked even the most basic daily maintenance and are unfit for use.
> At the time, the Public Prosecutor’s Office had already visited the site with the Federal Police for an inspection, but they did not go to the accommodations. The investigation had already begun at that time. When the case came to light, BYD declared that it was outraged by the treatment given to the professionals from the outsourced construction companies and that “immediately, the company ordered that the aggressors be prohibited from working at the unit and demanded that the contractors take urgent measures to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.” Furthermore, the company said that it “is reinforcing its oversight of the construction site to ensure compliance with the law and respect for all professionals working there.”
> Almost a month later, the MPT (Public Prosecutor’s Office for Labor) carried out another action, shutting down part of the construction site and rescuing 163 Chinese workers . The federal agency says that the conditions were degrading in the four closed accommodations. In one of them, the beds had no mattresses and there was only one bathroom for the 31 Chinese workers (both sexes), in precarious hygienic conditions and which was also used to wash clothes. Throughout the construction site, there were eight chemical toilets for approximately 600 workers, without toilet paper, water, or adequate maintenance.
> Inspectors found food stored with construction materials and near bathrooms in unsanitary conditions. The report indicates that the Chinese were drinking untreated tap water.
> According to the Brazilian Labor Prosecutor’s Office (MPT), the employees paid a security deposit and had 60% of their salaries withheld, received only 40% in Chinese currency, faced excessive costs for contract termination, and had their passports retained by Jinjiang, the construction company responsible for the project. If an employee decided to terminate the contract, they would lose the security deposit and the withheld amounts, in addition to having to pay for their return ticket to China and reimburse the cost of the outbound ticket. The MPT states that this constitutes forced labor.
> “To give you an idea, if a worker tried to terminate their employment contract after six months, they would leave the country without effectively receiving anything for their work, since the deduction of the security deposit, the cost of the trip to Brazil, and the payment of the return ticket would, in practice, constitute a total confiscation of the amounts received by the workers throughout the employment relationship,” the report reveals.
> In response to the government’s action, BYD Brazil terminated its contract with Jinjiang and was considering other appropriate measures. The manufacturer also decided to transfer the 163 workers to hotels in the region, and reiterated that it was reviewing the working and living conditions of all employees, notifying the companies and making adjustments.
> On the 26th, a hearing was held with BYD, Jinjiang, and representatives from the Labor Prosecutor’s Office (MPT), the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE), the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU), and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. At the hearing, the MPT classified the situation as analogous to slavery.
> It was decided that the Federal Police will issue the National Migration Registry (RNM) and the Federal Revenue Service will issue CPF numbers (Brazilian taxpayer identification numbers) for the workers. With the documents in hand, payments related to contract terminations and compensation will be made. The companies will be required to purchase return tickets to China and pay a US$120 allowance to seven employees returning on January 1st.
> In December 2025, the MPT-BA (Public Prosecutor’s Office of Bahia) announced that it had reached an agreement with BYD and the construction companies for the payment of R$ 40 million. This ended the investigations and lawsuits against the companies.
> Check out the statement released by the Labor Prosecutor’s Office:
> “The Labor Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPT) has reached a judicial agreement with the car manufacturer BYD Auto do Brasil Ltda., China Jinjiang Construction Brazil Ltda., and Tecmonta Equipamentos Inteligentes Brasil Co. Ltda. in a public civil action (ACP) filed in May of this year. The agreement provides for the payment of R$ 40 million, with R$ 20 million for individual moral damages, directly allocated to the rescued workers, and another R$ 20 million for collective moral damages, which will be deposited into a judicial account for later allocation to institutions and/or funds to be indicated by the MPT. The agreement has been submitted to the Labor Court for approval, after which it will take immediate effect.”
> The case involves 224 Chinese workers found in conditions analogous to slavery and victims of international human trafficking in December 2024, during the construction of the BYD industrial plant in the municipality of Camaçari, Bahia. The workers were hired by the contractors Jinjiang and Tecmonta, which provided services exclusively to the automaker.
> According to the agreement, companies assume several obligations to act and refrain from acting related to labor protection, applicable to all establishments and locations where they conduct business activity. In case of non-compliance, companies will be subject to a fine of R$ 20,000 per affected worker and for each instance of non-compliance.
> Of the 224 workers, 61 had returned to China without receiving the severance pay due as a result of the rescue. The agreement stipulated the payment of severance pay, the amount corresponding to the FGTS (Brazilian employee severance fund), plus a 40% penalty, in addition to compensation for individual moral damages.
Would anybody even believe me if I tried to feign shock?
Submission statement:
Relevant because of labour relations and how BYD conducts their growth around the world. The Brazilian government (very pro-BYD, it’s the current official state car) has officially named and shamed them in a way that no automaker in Brazil has done in recent years
!ping AUTO&LATAM