500 Vietnamese forced laborers at Chinese factory in Serbia have only two toilets
The rundown: The workers, who were hired to construct a tire factory in Zrenjanin, a city in the northern province of Vojvodina, are allegedly doing so under conditions that could endanger their lives, according to the NGOs. When work is over, they reportedly go to cramped dormitories, where they allegedly face even more issues such as lack of food, water and clothes.
The allegations come from A11, which advocates workers’ rights, and ASTRA, which fights against human trafficking. Both NGOs reported being denied access to the workers in their attempts to contact them.
The workers are officially hired by the China Energy Engineering Group Tianjin Electric Power Construction Co. Ltd., which is registered in Belgrade. The company, in turn, was hired by Shandong Linglong Tire, a Chinese tire manufacturer which has been subsidized by the Serbian government.
The workers, whose passports have also allegedly been taken, were recruited for 12-month contracts by Vietnamese employment agency Song Hy Gia Lai Company Ltd., which demanded $2,200 to $4,000 from each applicant in exchange for their services. However, their contracts were written in English, which only one of the workers understands, ASTRA’s Tina Piskulidis told the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).
https://www.yahoo.com/news/500-vietn...183456325.html