Brazil Court Removes BYD From Slave Labor Dirty List After Worker Rescue

Brazil's Regional Labor Court issued an injunction ordering the removal of BYD from the slave labor 'dirty list'.

“Brazil slams BYD for slave labor by Alimat Aliyeva Brazil has officially placed the Chinese company BYD on its registry of employers found to have subjected workers to conditions akin to slavery, AzerNEWS reports”

AzerNews

The listing came a year and a half after 163 Chinese workers were rescued amid precarious labor conditions.

AzerNews

Workers were required to surrender passports, have wages remitted directly to China, and pay a nearly $900 deposit refundable only after six months.

The blaze began on the second floor around 4 p.m. as workers were completing a late shift.

Fire service chief Mahmud Iqbal said rescue crews found most of the victims near the stairwells.

Survivors described scenes of workers pounding on locked metal doors as smoke filled the stairwells.

Nasrin Begum escaped by jumping from a second-floor window.

CNBC

The Bangladesh Garment Workers' Federation called a nationwide strike.

Federation president Kalpona Akter said Rahman Textile had been cited for fire safety violations in 2024.

Labour Minister Tahmina Akhter pledged an immediate government investigation.

Rahman Textile produced clothing for several European fashion brands.

“Brazil has put China's BYD on a registry of employers who have subjected workers to conditions similar to slavery, after a 2024 scandal in which Chinese workers were said to have been victims of human trafficking and abusive contracts”

CNBC

Hessen's compliance team had audited the factory in March.

Rahman Textile owner Faisal Rahman claimed the factory had passed its most recent safety inspection in January.

Clean Clothes Campaign said the audit system was fundamentally broken.

Rahman was being questioned about allegations that the factory's emergency exits had been welded shut.