China Labor Watch: Overseas Factories of Chinese Firms Systematically Violate Labor Rights
A new report by NGO China Labor Watch alleges severe labor rights violations at BYD's factory construction site in Hungary, including 7-day work weeks and forced overtime, urging EU intervention.
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- 📰 Published: April 25, 2026 at 12:01
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(Central News Agency, Taipei, 25th) The NGO 'China Labor Watch' (CLW) recently released an investigation report alleging that Chinese EV giant BYD has severely violated labor rights at its factory in Hungary. The head of CLW stated that such phenomena are widespread in the overseas factories of Chinese-funded enterprises.
Deutsche Welle recently cited Li Qiang, founder and executive director of CLW, stating that whether it's Chinese engineers 'voluntarily' working weekends or construction workers forced to do so, these practices violate EU labor laws and 'objectively squeeze out local European jobs.'
The New York-based organization's report focuses on BYD's factory in Szeged, Hungary. Workers at the construction site reported working 7 days a week, 9 hours a day, plus a 3-hour commute. Due to opaque wage structures, overtime obligations are blurred, and parts of wages are withheld for long periods, deterring workers from resigning. The report also revealed that many workers paid high intermediary fees to work there, creating a debt burden that increases dependency on employers and labor brokers, leading to exploitation.
Li Qiang revealed that these violations were first exposed by a Chinese worker who was blocked from resigning. Li and his staff visited Hungary multiple times last fall to interview dozens of Chinese and local workers. Under Hungarian law, annual overtime cannot exceed 400 hours, but BYD construction workers typically surpass this within a few months. Li noted this is common among nearly all Chinese firms expanding overseas, citing a similar case with BYD in Brazil a year ago. He attributed these abuses to workers falling into a regulatory blind spot—not covered by Chinese law and often lacking proper work visas to seek local protection. CLW has formally reported these findings to the European Commission, calling for stricter oversight. BYD has not yet responded to the allegations, as it pushes for overseas growth to offset cooling domestic performance.
Deutsche Welle recently cited Li Qiang, founder and executive director of CLW, stating that whether it's Chinese engineers 'voluntarily' working weekends or construction workers forced to do so, these practices violate EU labor laws and 'objectively squeeze out local European jobs.'
The New York-based organization's report focuses on BYD's factory in Szeged, Hungary. Workers at the construction site reported working 7 days a week, 9 hours a day, plus a 3-hour commute. Due to opaque wage structures, overtime obligations are blurred, and parts of wages are withheld for long periods, deterring workers from resigning. The report also revealed that many workers paid high intermediary fees to work there, creating a debt burden that increases dependency on employers and labor brokers, leading to exploitation.
Li Qiang revealed that these violations were first exposed by a Chinese worker who was blocked from resigning. Li and his staff visited Hungary multiple times last fall to interview dozens of Chinese and local workers. Under Hungarian law, annual overtime cannot exceed 400 hours, but BYD construction workers typically surpass this within a few months. Li noted this is common among nearly all Chinese firms expanding overseas, citing a similar case with BYD in Brazil a year ago. He attributed these abuses to workers falling into a regulatory blind spot—not covered by Chinese law and often lacking proper work visas to seek local protection. CLW has formally reported these findings to the European Commission, calling for stricter oversight. BYD has not yet responded to the allegations, as it pushes for overseas growth to offset cooling domestic performance.