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Construction of a new factory for BYD, a big electric car company from China, has stopped in Brazil. Officials said some workers were living in very poor conditions.
Over 160 workers were rescued in Bahia, a state in northeastern Brazil. The Public Labour Prosecutor’s Office (MPT) said these workers were living in bad conditions. They also said the company responsible for the bad conditions was a building company. The company was also holding workers’ passports and pay.
BYD said they have stopped working with that building company. They also said they want to follow all the laws in Brazil.
The factory was supposed to open by March 2025. It was going to be BYD’s first electric car factory outside of Asia.
The workers, who were hired by Jinjiang Construction Brazil, lived in four different places. At one place, workers had to sleep on beds without mattresses, and 31 workers had to share one bathroom, which made it hard for them to get ready for work on time.
The MPT said the places where the workers lived were in very bad shape. They said the conditions were like “slavery,” which means not paying people what they earned and making them work in ways that are not fair.
BYD said the workers have been moved to hotels. They also said they checked how the workers were living and working and asked the building company to change things many times.
BYD is a very large electric car maker. They even sold more electric cars than Tesla in the last three months of 2023. BYD has been growing in Brazil, which is its biggest market outside of China.
Vocabulary
- Construction – the action of building something; creation; the process of making a building
- Factory – plant; a building where things are made or built
- Electric car – A car that runs only on electricity ⚡, not gasoline.
- Official – a person who works for the government or a government company and has power or authority; officer; executive
- Poor – not good; bad quality; unfavorable
- Condition – state; shape; situation; the state/shape that something or someone is in with regard to its appearance, quality, or working order;
- Poor conditions – bad situation; not good shape/state
- Rescue – to save someone or something from danger; to help or free someone
- Responsible for – to be officially in charge of something; in control of; held accountable for something
- Building company – A business that builds/makes buildings and/or homes
- Passport – A small book that shows what country you are from. You need it to travel to other countries
- Pay – The money you receive for doing a job or work;
- Follow a law – Do what the law says; don’t do something wrong or illegal
- Law – a rule, regulation, or guideline set by the government
- Supposed to – expected, planned, arranged, decided
- Hire – to pay someone to do a job; to employ; toSave – give someone a job; to take a person into a company
- Mattress – A soft pad on a bed that you sleep on
- Bathroom – a room for showering, bathing; a room with a shower/bathtub, sink and/or toilet
- On time – not late; punctual
- Shape – state; condition; situation; the state/shape that something or someone is in with regard to its appearance, quality, or working order;
- Slavery – condition or situation in which one human/person is owned by another human/person;
- Earn – to get something (usually money) because you worked, sold something, or helped someone; to receive
- Force – To make someone do something they don’t want to do
- Labor – work; the work someone does;
- Forced labor – Making someone work when they don’t want to
- Get paid – To receive money for work
- Market – the field/area/place of trade or business; the buying/selling of a specific product or service; a category of potential buyers
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think it’s important for companies to make sure their workers have good living conditions?
- Do you think BYD responded to the situation appropriately? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Brazil is such an important market for BYD?
- Have you ever heard of BYD cars? Are they available in your country? What do you think about them?
- English teachers looking for teaching ideas, check out my post on using easy news articles for lessons.
- English learners looking for study ideas, check out my post on using news stories for English practice.
Original Story
Fill-in-the-Blank Listening Practice
Construction of a _____ factory for BYD, a big electric car company from China, has _____ in Brazil. Officials said some workers were _____ in very poor conditions.
Over 160 workers were _____ in Bahia, a state in northeastern Brazil. The Public Labour Prosecutor’s Office (MPT) _____ these workers were living in bad conditions. _____ also said the company responsible for the bad conditions was a _____ company. The company was also holding workers’ _____ and pay.
BYD said they have stopped working with that _____ company. They said they want to follow all the laws in _____.
The factory was supposed to _____ by March 2025. It was going to be BYD’s first electric car factory _____ of Asia.
The workers, who were _____ by Jinjiang Construction Brazil, lived in four different places. At one _____, workers had to sleep on _____ without mattresses, and _____ workers had to share one bathroom, which made it hard for them to get _____ for work on time.
The MPT said the places where the workers _____ were in very bad shape. They said the conditions were like “slavery,” _____ means not paying people what they earned and making them work in _____ that are not fair.
BYD said the _____ have been moved to hotels. They also said they checked how the workers _____ living and working and asked the building company to _____ things many times.
BYD is a very _____ electric car maker. They even sold more electric cars than Tesla in the last _____ months of 2023. BYD has been growing in Brazil, which is its _____ market outside of China.
