Tesco is facing a lawsuit from 130 former workers who made F&F Clothing items at VK Garment Factory (VKG) for the Thai branch of the business between 2017 and 2020.
In an investigation by The Guardian, the workers are suing the UK’s largest retailer for alleged negligence, after reportedly being trapped in effective forced labour and working 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in “appalling conditions.”
It is believed to be the first time a UK company has been threatened with litigation in the English courts over a foreign garment factory that it does not own.
While the retailer was not involved in the day-to-day running of the factory beyond setting and checking standards and placing orders, workers in its supply chain are seeking to hold Tesco to account for allegedly failing to protect them.
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Tesco said that protecting the rights of everyone in its supply chain was “absolutely essential” and that had it identified serious issues like these at the time it would have ended its relationship with VKG immediately.
Tesco made £2.2bn profits in 2020, the last year that its Thai business used VKG. Labour experts say large clothing brands such as F&F deliberately outsource the production of clothes and the auditing of factories to avoid liability and reputational damage while keeping prices cheap and protecting profits.
“Tesco is one of the UK’s most profitable companies and our clients allege that they’re making vast profits through outsourcing the production, through workers being paid very low wages, working excessive hours, and under terrible conditions,” solicitor for the Thai workers, Oliver Holland said.
“It is argued that this is all solely for the profit of the companies in the UK, and so that consumers can buy very cheap clothing. Clothing that costs as little as F&F clothing is likely to be causing harm somewhere along the supply chain and that is what we have seen in this case.”
A Tesco spokesperson commented: “Protecting the rights of everyone working in our supply chain is absolutely essential to how we do business.
“In order to uphold our stringent human rights standards, we have a robust auditing process in place across our supply chain and the communities where we operate.
“Any risk of human rights abuses is completely unacceptable, but on the very rare occasions where they are identified, we take great care to ensure they are dealt with appropriately, and that workers have their human rights and freedoms respected.
“The allegations highlighted in this report are incredibly serious, and had we identified issues like this at the time they took place, we would have ended our relationship with this supplier immediately.
“We understand the Thai labour court has awarded compensation to those involved, and we would continue to urge the supplier to reimburse employees for any wages they’re owed.”
