BANGKOK, Thailand: Victoria’s Secret has announced that it will compensate 1,250 Thai workers who were laid off last year without their legally mandated severance, with payments totaling US$8.3 million.
The compensation will be paid via a loan arrangement with the workers’ former employer, the Brilliant Alliance factory.
In 2021, the factory’s owner, the Clover Group, was ordered by the Thai government to pay severance to its workers within 30 days, after it closed its factories throughout the country.
The company initially refused and said the workers should wait 10 years to be fully paid. But last week, due to Victoria’s Secret’s commitment, all workers received their severance, plus more than $1 million dollars in interest, in line with Thai law.
“We hope this represents a model for the type of domestic, governmental, international and brand engagement to resolve future cases where garment workers are left in similarly desperate straits,” said David Welsh, country director of the Solidarity Center Thailand, as reported by insideretail.asia.
“It is a historic case, given the amount of the settlement and again, hopefully, a model for the global garment industry going forward, in terms of direct brand involvement,” he added.
WRC Executive director Scott Nova said his organization has gathered information about hundreds of cases of wage theft in the apparel supply industry.
“The $8.3 million provided by Victoria’s Secret is also the most any brand has ever contributed to help resolve a wage theft case. Victoria’s Secret should be very proud of what it has done here,” Nova said.
