MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay: Possible slave-like conditions for Chinese company workers under investigation

Díaz criticized business sectors nostalgic of the 1990s when there was little to no collective bargaining and almost no labor protection

Uruguay's National Union of Construction and Related Industries (Sunca) Secretary-General Javier Díaz said the rate of labor accidents nationwide has worsened over the past five years and blamed the departing administration of President Luis Lacalle Pou for this, amid waning collective wage bargaining conditions and high unemployment and informality.

Díaz also highlighted the Sunca's involvement in creating the National Commission of Safety and Health at Work (Conaset) and the approval of significant labor safety measures. In his view, the Corporate Criminal Responsibility Law, now ten years old, was also a union achievement after numerous workers suffered disabling injuries during the working conditions of the 1990s.

In this scenario, a traffic accident resulting in the death of a Chinese worker led to renewed scrutiny of the China Machinery Engineering Corporation's (CMEC)safety practices. Labor inspections have previously found irregularities, resulting in the closure of some facilities, but poor conditions persist and forced labor akin to slavery-like conditions is feared as unions and social organizations advocate for stronger labor safety laws and increased oversight. The company hires a primarily Chinese and Ecuadorian labor force housed in overcrowded and unsafe facilities.

The worker's death was the second so far this year as labor accidents took a turn for the worse over the past five years, Díaz explained. “There is a part of the Uruguayan business community that longs for the 1990s ”when there was no collective bargaining“ and when there was a lot of unemployment and informality. ”These are the same people who claim that the best union is the one that does not exist,” he added.

CMEC, now building the 500-kilovolt transmission ring for the state energy company UTE, is under the spotlight for possible violations of Corporate Criminal Responsibility Law. According to the Sunca, workers live in undignified conditions, without access to refrigeration for their food, in cramped quarters, and with bathrooms without hot water. In some camps, up to 80 people have been housed in containers without adequate safety and hygiene measures.

On Jan. 7, a 53-year-old Chinese worker died after a pickup truck carrying company employees overturned. This incident led to a partial work stoppage and rekindled criticism of the lack of occupational safety.

Authorities are now investigating whether the situation can be classified as forced labor, given the isolation, the language barrier, and the total dependence on the company of these employees.