June Angus, West London Socialist Party
130 former workers are suing Tesco for allegedly trapping them in ‘effective forced labour’ at the VK Garment Factory (VKG) in Mae Sot, Thailand.
The garment workers manufactured denim for Tesco’s F&F clothing line between 2017 and 2020. The lawsuit alleges that workers faced dangerous and illegal working conditions as well as pay that fell below Thailand’s national minimum wage.
The former workers claim that they often worked 99-hour weeks, for less than £4 per day. They reported numerous injuries due to unsafe conditions, as well as employees falling asleep or becoming unwell at their stations during long hours without breaks. Accommodation provided by the factory was also reported to be overcrowded and unsanitary.
Mae Sot, located on Thailand’s border with Myanmar, is a hub for garment manufacturing, and is known to locals and those in the industry for its reliance on illegal exploitation of Burmese migrant labour. The workers allege that Tesco was aware of these abuses during its time working with the VKG Factory and did not take action.
In 2020, 136 workers were dismissed after asking for better pay and conditions in the wake of an audit carried out at VKG that exposed the factory’s abuses. Later that year, the workers filed a case in Thailand, but did not win the full amount they had claimed for unpaid wages. Now, the case is being brought to British courts, marking the first time a UK company has faced legal threat from a foreign garment supplier that it does not own.
However, the situation leading to the lawsuit is far from unique. The case has highlighted the exploitative nature of many multinational corporations in employing cheap and easily exploitable labour. Brands retailing primarily in wealthier countries rely on inexpensive labour, often in less economically developed countries, to manufacture their goods. Consumers demand lower prices, and retailers demand higher profits – the result is that workers often bear the brunt, working in squalor for low pay. Numerous scandals have erupted in the past over even luxury brands taking advantage of illegal labour and ‘sweatshop’ conditions.
Working classes in all regions will continue to suffer under profit-driven capitalism. Success for the former VKG employees can inspire continued action and organisation for workers across South East Asia and globally.
