EV giant BYD contractor denies 'slavery-like conditions' in Brazil

Beijing: A contractor for Chinese EV giant BYD denied on Thursday there were slave like conditions in a Brazil factory, where local officials said t...

Beijing: A contractor for Chinese EV giant BYD denied on Thursday there were "slave-like conditions" in a Brazil factory, where local officials said they found evidence of forced labour.

Local officials in Brazil's northeast Bahia state, where the BYD factory was being built, said this week they found more than 160 Chinese workers contracted by Jinjiang Construction Brazil Ltd. in "degrading" conditions, some presenting visible signs of skin damage.

Jinjiang denied its employees had been illegally enslaved, saying on Thursday that the accusations had "seriously damaged the dignity of Chinese people".

"Being inexplicably labelled as 'enslaved' has made our staff feel seriously insulted and that their human rights have been violated," it said on Weibo.

The contracting company shared images of a letter denying the poor working conditions and citing translation issues, which appeared to be signed by its local Chinese staff.