The Brazilian government fired its secretary of labor inspection for adding BYD (HKG:1211, SHE:002594) to a list of employers accused of unjustly treating workers, Reuters reported Monday, citing two people close to the matter.

The secretary, Luiz Felipe Brandao de Mello, allegedly defied an order from Labor Minister Luiz Marinho to not include BYD on its worker abuse "dirty list," a registry of employers allegedly subjecting employees to slave-like conditions, the report said.

Brandao de Mello's dismissal is seen as a development in the crisis between President Luiz Inacio Lula ⁠da Silva's administration and labor abuse inspectors, the report said.

Marinho had been alleged to interfere with the labor inspectors' work to exclude big companies from their list, the report said.

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