Task force rescues workers and prohibits BYD construction in Camaçari

The rescue of 163 workers for being in slave-like conditions and the closure of accommodation and sections of the construction site of the plant where the car manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) is installing a factory in the municipality of Camaçari, in the metropolitan region of Salvador was notified this Monday morning (23/12) to the company and the Jinjiang Group, one of the contractors hired to carry out the work.

Some of those rescued remain in accommodation, while another group is already in a hotel, but they will not be able to work and will have their employment contracts terminated.

The embargoed accommodation and construction sites will also remain without activities until complete regularization with the bodies that make up the task force. The task force responsible for inspections and the development of this action is made up of the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT), the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE), the Federal Public Defender's Office (DPU) and the Federal Highway Police (PRF), in addition to the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) and the Federal Police (PF).

A joint virtual hearing of the MPT and MTE was scheduled for the 26th in the afternoon so that BYD and Jinjang can present the necessary measures to guarantee the minimum accommodation conditions and also for the conditions for the general regularization of what has already been negotiated to be negotiated. detected. The inspection, however, will still continue with the analysis of requested documents and the need for new on-site inspections cannot be ruled out.

During the series of inspections, which began in mid-November and will continue in the coming days, 163 workers were identified in conditions similar to slavery at the outsourcing company Jinjang, a service provider for BYD. These workers were distributed across four main accommodations in the municipality of Camaçari. A fifth accommodation, intended for workers with administrative functions, was also inspected, but, despite some irregularities being identified, there was no rescue of workers.

The conditions found in the accommodation revealed an alarming picture of precariousness and degradation. In the first accommodation, the workers slept in beds without mattresses, they did not have lockers for their personal belongings, which were mixed with food materials. The health situation was especially critical, with only one bathroom for every 31 workers, forcing them to wake up at 4am to form a queue and be able to get ready to leave for work at 5:30am.

The second accommodation, intended mainly for welders, presented similarly precarious conditions. Although there was a material on the beds, these were in fact just 3cm thick coverings, insufficient to provide minimum conditions of use, with some beds not even having this covering. All accommodation shared serious infrastructure and hygiene problems. The bathrooms, in addition to being insufficient, were not separated by sex, did not have adequate toilet seats and presented precarious hygiene conditions. The lack of an appropriate place to wash clothes led workers to use their own bathrooms for this purpose.

The situation in some of the food areas was equally precarious. The kitchens operated in alarming conditions, without adequate cabinets for storing food. In one particularly serious case, construction materials were found near food, and food was stored near bathrooms in unsanitary conditions. Only one of the accommodations had an improvised dining room, with benches and wooden tables in a semi-covered area, which was still insufficient for all the workers, forcing the majority to eat their meals in their own beds.

In one of the rooms, occupied by a cook, pans with prepared food were found left open on the floor, exposed to dirt and without refrigeration, to be served the next day. Workers consumed water directly from the tap, without treatment, even taking it in bottles to the workplace.

Conditions at the construction site also revealed serious irregularities. The cafeteria at the workplace used coolers to serve meals, without guaranteeing minimum hygiene conditions. The chemical bathrooms, just eight for approximately 600 workers, were in a deplorable state, without toilet paper, water or adequate maintenance, in addition to not respecting the minimum distances established by regulations.

Workers were exposed to intense solar radiation, showing visible signs of skin damage. Several accidents at work were recorded, including one case in which the worker, due to sleep deprivation caused by inadequate accommodation conditions and long working hours, suffered an accident. Another serious case involved a worker who suffered an eye injury in April and, despite requesting ophthalmological care, never received proper medical follow-up.

The work presented multiple irregularities related to the work environment, leading to the embargo of deep excavation activities and the partial closure of establishments, specifically the kitchen of one of the accommodations. A bench circular saw was also banned for not having any safety measures.

In addition to the degrading conditions, the situation characterizes forced labor, due to several indicators found during inspections: workers were forced to pay a deposit, had 60% of their wages withheld (receiving only 40% in Chinese currency), faced excessive costs for termination contractual and had their passports retained by the company. Early termination of the contract resulted in the loss of the deposit and the amounts retained, in addition to the obligation to pay for the return ticket and refund the value of the outward ticket.

To give you an idea, if a worker tried to terminate the employment contract after six months, he would leave the country without effectively receiving anything for his work, since the discount on the deposit, the ticket to Brazil and the payment of the return ticket , in practice, would constitute total confiscation of the amounts received by workers throughout the employment relationship.

The working day, in turn, was already fixed in the contract at ten hours a day, which was aggravated by the lack of regular granting of the days off provided for in the instrument. A worker who was a victim of an accident at work was identified and had been without a day off for 25 days. This worker reported tiredness and drowsiness at the time of the accident, demonstrating that long working hours and accommodation conditions, which prevent rest, were crucial factors in the accident.