Following a lawsuit 130 Burmese garment workers for the F&F brand in Thailand filed alleging supply chain violations, the advocacy organisation Labour Behind the Label will question Tesco about how it is protecting workers in its supply chain.
In a case brought by the law firm Leigh Day, Tesco and the auditing company Intertek were sued in December for carelessness and unjust enrichment.
The Tesco board will be questioned by Labour Behind the Label on why the company still relies on auditing procedures that do not adequately safeguard workers at their supplier factories and whether Intertek will be fired after its ineffective audits exposed the business to legal action on a global scale.
Anna Bryher, policy lead for Labour Behind the Label said, “Women in garment factories around the world are routinely subject to exploitation and rights abuse.”
She added by saying while Intertek sat by and watched, failing to report the abuse they saw, including threats, fraud, long hours, and more, Tesco benefited from the mistreatment of the VK Garment workers. Tesco and Intertex are obligated to compensate VK employees and resolve the legal action initiated against them.
She also said the multi-million dollar industry of social audits serves as a fig leaf for mistreatment in global textile manufacturers. Fashion companies hire social audit companies to provide credible denial, despite the fact that everyone in the sector is aware that rights infringement is pervasive. Social auditing actively undermines the preservation of human rights while also failing to detect violations of those rights.
