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Nearly 130 Burmese workers accuse supermarket giant Tesco of failing to protect them. They were making clothes for the British company’s brand from a factory in Thailand in deplorable conditions.
From our correspondent in London, Marie Boeda
On average 4 euros per day, this is the salary received by these Burmese workers in a factory that made clothes for Tesco. That’s half the minimum income in Thailand. Supermarket giant Tesco is the subject of proceedings in the UK on behalf of Burmese migrants in Thailand alleging forced labor for a former clothing manufacturer subcontractor.
“Burmese migrants were forced to work up to 99 hours a week with illegal wages and in forced labor conditions in a Thai factory”specifies a press release from the firm Leigh Day, which represents them, published on Sunday evening.
Tesco and Intertek face claims of forced labour and debt bondage at F&F fashion factory in Thailand. A letter before action detailing the allegations has been sent on behalf of 130 migrant factory workers, represented by @ollyholland and @annabarrLD https://t.co/xwKr4TqLRI pic.twitter.com/iDhuB1h0AA
— Leigh Day (@LeighDay_Law) December 19, 2022
These workers, who made jeans at very high speeds, say they were trapped by the factory that held their immigration papers. They slept in a dormitory without any privacy and on the floor and now accuses the British supermarket giant of not having protected them.
Financial compensation requested
If the workers were employed in the VK Garments factory in Mae Sot between 2017 and 2020 cutting, making or packaging garments for sale in Thailand, the profits would accrue to the United Kingdom, remind him Guardian. The newspaper collected terrible testimonies during its investigation. A little girl was allegedly raped in this dormitory while her mother was working. It was impossible to call for help, as the factory refused to draw attention to their working conditions.
Tesco was not involved in the day-to-day running of the establishment and its spokesman says he was unaware of the situation. Revelations ” are incredibly serious, and if we had identified issues like this at the time they occurred, we would have immediately terminated our relationship with this supplier “Reacted Tesco Monday in a statement sent to AFP.
The company stopped working with this Thai supplier in 2020, the same year it made 2.5 billion euros in profits. The company stopped working with this Thai supplier in 2020, the same year it made 2.5 billion euros in profits. The procedure also targets the insurance and certification group for Intertek companies, which had inspected the factory in question.
(And with AFP)
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