"Chinese construction site" in Serbia: activists speak of "slave labor"

dw.com "Chinese construction site" in Serbia: activists speak of "slave labor" Sanja Kljajić, Nemanja Rujević - Yesterday at 17:16. Some 500 Vietnamese workers are building a Chinese tire factory in Serbia - in inhumane conditions, activists say. No money, no passports, no hot water. The government disagrees. Serbia: Vietnamese guest workers have no rights "No food, no electricity," says a Vietnamese worker - he doesn't speak much more English. The journalists are already back. This man and his 500 or so compatriots cannot really believe that their fate has been occupying the media in Serbia for days and threatens to become a political issue. For months, workers from the Far East have been toiling on a construction site near Zrenjanin, in the north of the Balkan country. There, a giant factory of the Chinese car tire manufacturer Linglong Tyre is being built on a greenfield site. Hundreds of Vietnamese workers build a Chinese tire factory in northern Serbia Linglong is to invest around 900 million US dollars here. A record commitment for Serbia. More than 1000 employees will soon be working in production. Criminal complaint for human trafficking But the fairy tale of the "iron friendship" between China and Serbia and the great opportunity of the new Silk Road is clouded by reports of slave-like working conditions on the construction site. "It's terrible. People don't even have medical help," reports investigative journalist Ivana Gordić, who was the first to report on the living and working conditions of the Vietnamese. Images from cable channel N1 also show dilapidated shacks on the outskirts of the city, with beds like those in overcrowded prisons and only two old bathrooms for hundreds of people. "There is no heating and the hot water in the boiler is enough for five people at most," Gordić told DW. Serbian activists have filed criminal charges on suspicion of slave labor and human trafficking. According to the report, the guest workers have so far received only one month's wages, although they have been in Serbia since spring 2021. Their passports had been withheld by the employer. Poor working and housing conditions for Vietnamese guest workers in Zrenjanin Last week, activists took a worker out of the barracks who had previously been fired for speaking to media. A scuffle ensued with security personnel, only then did police and labor inspectors show up. Several journalists were obstructed in their work by a Chinese man whose role is not clear, including the DW reporter. In a dark van with Belgrade license plates, the man briefly blocked the DW team on the street, but then moved away. President "begs" for Chinese money It's all just a "media and political campaign" against Chinese capital, says Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in response. "Because of public pressure, we sent inspectors there. The conditions are not good, but they are getting better," Vučić admitted, then asked critics, "Should we destroy the investment of 900 million? We also want to help Vietnamese workers, but I won't chase away the investors." The strongman in Belgrade rules the country single-handedly, there is virtually no opposition, and the major media are kept on a short leash. Although Vučić is in favor of his country's EU membership, he speaks openly about "begging" for investment from China's strongman Xi Jinping. Aleksandar Vučić and Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 16, 2017. Meanwhile, Chinese companies control a large steel mill and copper mine in Serbia. They are building railroad networks and highways. German and other Western investors are also being courted with government subsidies, free land or tax rebates. "The problem here is not that Linglong is a Chinese company," says Danilo Ćurčić, the human rights lawyer for the nongovernmental organization "A11," which is handling the case. "The real problem is that this situation is a logical consequence of the erosion of workers' rights, as well as the so-called race to the bottom for foreign investment." What is meant is lavish money that investors get for each job created. The sums range up to 50,000 euros per job - with ordinary workers usually earning 400 to 500 euros net per month. As a mere workbench for Western and Chinese companies, Serbia is increasingly becoming the "Bangladesh of the Balkans," critics say.