China Labor Watch: Chinese Companies' Overseas Factories Widely Infringe on Labor Rights

(Central News Agency, Taipei, 25th) The non-governmental organization 'China Labor Watch' recently released an investigation report stating that Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD's factory in Hungary severely infringed upon labor rights. The head of China Labor Watch stated that such phenomena are quite common in Chinese companies' overseas factories.

Deutsche Welle Chinese previously quoted Li Qiang, founder and executive director of China Labor Watch, saying that whether it's engineers dispatched from China voluntarily working overtime on weekends or Chinese construction workers being forced to work overtime for various reasons, these all violate EU labor laws, and 'objectively, they are squeezing local European jobs.'

This New York-based organization recently released an investigation report pointing out that Chinese electric vehicle leader BYD's factory in Szeged, Hungary, severely infringed upon labor rights during its construction phase. Chinese laborers at the construction site generally reported working 7 consecutive days a week, 9 hours a day, plus 3 hours of commuting time. At the same time, due to an opaque wage structure, overtime obligations were vague, and some wages were even withheld for long periods, making workers afraid to resign voluntarily.

The report also revealed that many Chinese laborers paid considerable fees to intermediaries to work at BYD's Hungary factory construction site. The debts they incurred further intensified their dependence on employers and labor intermediaries, making them more susceptible to exploitation.

Li Qiang revealed that the infringements at BYD's Hungary factory construction site were initially exposed by a Chinese worker whose resignation was obstructed. Li Qiang and China Labor Watch staff visited Hungary multiple times in the fall of last year to understand the situation, interviewing dozens of workers dispatched from China and local European laborers.

Li Qiang stated that according to Hungarian labor regulations, the total annual overtime hours cannot exceed 400 hours. However, based on the actual situation during the construction of the BYD factory, these workers often exceeded the annual overtime limit within a few months of working.

He pointed out that according to information obtained by China Labor Watch in recent years, almost all Chinese companies establishing factories overseas exhibit similar phenomena. For example, BYD's factory in Brazil was exposed for labor rights infringements over a year ago.

Li Qiang believes that these infringements by overseas Chinese factories likely stem from dispatched laborers not being governed by Chinese law and also falling into regulatory blind spots of local laws, 'especially since these Chinese employees do not hold formal work visas and dare not proactively defend their rights.'

He also stated that in places like Germany, where labor protection enforcement is relatively stricter, such infringements by Chinese factories are much less common.

Li Qiang also mentioned that external attention to Chinese labor rights issues often focused on relatively grassroots assembly line workers or construction workers. However, with the rise of Chinese high-tech enterprises, the squeezing effect on foreign job opportunities has extended to skilled workers and even engineers.

Li Qiang revealed that China Labor Watch has officially reported the relevant situation to the European Commission. In a report released earlier, it called on the Hungarian government to strengthen supervision of labor regulations and demanded that the EU implement oversight of the entire supply chain.

BYD has not yet responded to China Labor Watch's allegations. The report states that BYD's factory in Hungary began trial production earlier this year. Facing challenges of slowing domestic sales and intense market competition leading to declining net profits, BYD plans to compensate for the decline in domestic performance through overseas markets. In addition to Hungary, BYD is also preparing to establish another production base within the EU in Spain. (Editor: Chou Hui-ying / Chu Chien-ling) 1150425

Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.

Download the Central News Agency 'First-hand News' APP to stay updated with the latest news.

The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.