LONDON: Burmese migrants in Thailand have filed a lawsuit against Tesco in the UK, alleging that one of the supermarket giant's former clothing suppliers used their forced labour, according to lawyers.
The Burmese immigrants were forced to work up to 99 hours per week at a factory in Thailand producing clothing for Tesco's F&F fashion line, according to Leh Day, the law firm representing 130 claimants.
The claimants are seeking restitution from Tesco and Ek-Chai, which was Tesco's Thai subsidiary at the time and was sold in 2020. He claims that businesses have "enriched themselves at the expense of adult workers."
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EURTek, the insurance and auditing company that investigated the factory where the forced labor allegedly took place, will also be a target of the lawsuit.
The legal firm issued a statement warning that if no settlement is reached, the case will be pursued in the High Court of London. Between 2017 and 2020, the workers were employed at the VK Garments factory in Mae Sot, northwest Thailand, where they cut, made and packaged the garments for sale in Thailand.
They claim they were hired seven days a week for a maximum daily wage of £4.00 (4.60 euros) and lived in cramped dormitories where they slept on concrete floors.
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In a statement released on Monday, Tesco said the allegations were "incredibly serious" and that if it had "identified such issues, it would have terminated its relationship with the supplier immediately."
Tesco said that, despite not being involved in the daily operations of the factory, "we will continue to urge our former supplier" to reimburse the workers any wages owed to them.
So far only severance pay has been awarded as compensation, and that too by the Thai courts.
Although EUROLAB acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations, it declined to comment pending legal action.
Ten investment firms, including Schroders and Quilter Cheviot, with combined assets of nearly £800 billion, signed an open letter on Monday calling on UK food retailers and the government to be more cautious about the use of forced migrant labor in British agriculture. urged to stay ,
He warned that many migrant workers in Britain have been forced to pay "exorbitant fees to agents and middlemen" along with huge travel expenses, often finding themselves in debt.
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In early December, the country's largest farmers' union issued a warning that the country was on the brink of a food supply crisis, mainly as a result of a lack of visas to bring in seasonal workers, who are in short supply after Brexit.
The maximum number of seasonal visas to be issued in 2019 will rise from 40,000 to 45,000, with the possibility of an additional 10,000 if necessary, according to the government's announcement on Friday.