Status: 05/27/2022 5:59 p.m
They had been unlawfully fired without severance pay: More than 1,200 Thai seamstresses who made underwear for brands such as Victoria’s Secret have won record severance payments.
More than 1,250 Thai seamstresses receive millions in compensation. The workers’ rights organizations Solidarity Center and Worker Rights Consortium said the employees who were laid off in March last year received 281 million Thai baht (around 7.65 million euros). This is the largest settlement in connection with wage theft in a textile factory.
Victoria’s Secret, Lane Bryant and Torrid
The workers who sewed bras for the Victoria’s Secret, Lane Bryant and Torrid brands for Brilliant Alliance in Thailand were thrown out last year without the statutory severance pay.
Hong Kong’s Clover Group, owner of Brilliant Alliance, said it had no money; employees should agree to not be paid for ten years.
The workers’ organizations launched a campaign to force the payout. The Clover Group finally agreed to a payment that Victoria’s Secret is said to be financing with a loan. Sycamore Partners, which in turn owns the Lane Bryant and Torrid brands, did not participate and could not be reached for comment.
Last week, the workers received their severance pay plus the legally prescribed interest totaling around 933,000 euros.