Thai police accused of ‘sham’ forced labour inquiry at former Tesco supplier

Exclusive: Officials took one day to conclude no laws were broken at VK Garment factory and workers say their words were deleted

Thai police have been accused of conducting a “sham” investigation into potential forced labour at a garment factory formerly used by Tesco, after officials took one day to conclude no laws were broken.

The Guardian revealed last month that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being made to work 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in terrible conditions.

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Thai police screen ex-workers at former Tesco supplier over sweatshop claims

Interviews follow raid on VK Garment factory, the subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket from 130 ex-workers

Thai police and civil servants have begun screening more than 100 former workers at a factory that supplied Tesco to determine if they were victims of forced labour.

The Guardian revealed last week that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand had reported being trapped in their work, enduring 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions.

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Thai police raid former Tesco clothing supplier at centre of sweatshop claims

VK Garment factory in Mae Sot is subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket from 130 ex-workers

Thai police have raided a clothing factory previously used by Tesco that is the subject of a UK lawsuit over alleged sweatshop conditions.

The Guardian revealed earlier this week that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being trapped in, in effect, forced labour, working 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions.

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Workers in Thailand who made F&F jeans for Tesco ‘trapped in effective forced labour’

Exclusive: Supermarket faces landmark lawsuit in the UK from 130 former workers alleging negligence

Burmese workers that produced F+F jeans for Tesco in Thailand report being trapped in effective forced labour, working 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions, a Guardian investigation has found.

Tesco faces a landmark lawsuit in the UK from 130 former workers at VK Garment Factory (VKG), who are suing them for alleged negligence and unjust enrichment. The workers made jeans, denim jackets and other F&F clothes for adults and children for the Thai branch of Tesco’s business between 2017 and 2020.

Being paid as little as £3 a day to work from 8am to 11pm with just one day off a month.

Detailed records kept by supervisors seen by the Guardian show the majority of workers on their lines were paid less than £4 a day and only according to how much they could make. The Thai minimum wage then was £7 for an 8-hour day.

Having to work through the night for 24 hours at least once a month to fulfil large F&F orders, and becoming so exhausted they fell asleep at their sewing tables.

Some reported serious injuries; one man described slicing open his arm carrying a dangerously heavy interlocker machine, requiring 13 stitches. Another said he lost the tip of his index finger after slicing it in a button machine while making F&F denim jackets.

Many said they were shouted at and threatened by managers within the factory if they did not keep working overtime and meet targets.

More than a dozen of the workers interviewed said the factory opened bank accounts for them and then confiscated the cards and passwords so they could make it appear they were paid minimum wage while paying much less in cash.

Most workers relied on VKG for their immigration status and some said their immigration documents were held by the factory, leaving them in debt bondage.

Factory accommodation within the compound consisted of overcrowded rooms with concrete floors to sleep on and dirty pond water in a bucket to wash. Workers say most rooms had no door, just a curtain.

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Proposed New York law aims to protect fashion models from exploitation

The Fashion Workers Act would curb abuses ranging from enforced financial dependency to sex trafficking

Kaja Sokola was a shy teen from Wroclaw, Poland, when she received news that changed her life: modeling agents saw her photo during an open casting call, and they wanted her to walk at a show in Warsaw.

Sokola had done one or two walks in a dress or skirt, but the show was mostly underwear. She was 14.

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