Body Fashion workers read names of laid off workers on July 31, 2020. Photo credit: Chalit Pumruang for the Bangkok Post.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the Body Fashion sewing factory in Thailand shut down for three months. During this time, workers were not paid partial wages required by Thai law, and many struggled to survive through the spring. On July 31, 2020, the factory was supposed to reopen, but when workers arrived in the morning they found that nearly 90% of them had been fired without any notice. Over the next few months, the entire workforce of more than 900 workers lost their jobs as the factory shut down permanently. In total, Body Fashion owes workers $5.9 million in unpaid wages, severance, notice pay, bonuses, and legally mandated interest. Malaysian businessman Robert Ng (Ng Man Choong), owner of Body Fashion, is directly responsible for the factory’s debt to workers and has shown no intention of paying.
The unpaid wages have had a devastating effect on workers. Over 90% of the workers were women, many of whom worked at Body Fashion for ten or even 20 years. Some have lost their homes, or been unable to pay for their children’s school. Others have resorted to borrowing from informal lenders at steep interest rates. Reflecting on the situation, one woman remarked, "We used to be the foundation of our families, but now we find ourselves as a source of burden."
“The day I got the termination letter, it was like the world was ending, my heart was broken…Sometimes I don’t have enough money to eat. I don’t tell my mom that I’m unemployed because I’m worried she’ll worry about me.”
The factory supplied swimwear, underwear and sportswear to brands including the century-old Austrian company Huber Holding, Lane Bryant (owned by the US-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners), the Swiss lingerie brand Triumph International, and the US brand Victoria’s Secret. Südwind has tried to engage Huber Holding, but the brand has refused to reply. Lane Bryant, and its owner Sycamore Partners, have been entirely unresponsive. Triumph International has refused to acknowledge any responsibility to the workers. Victoria’s Secret has taken no steps to address the violations, beyond attempts to contact the factory owner. These brands must exert all possible influence to persuade Robert Ng to pay; if he does not, they should use their substantial resources to make the workers who made their products whole.
Huber Group: Denying Responsibility
The Huber Group only responded to the allegations when confronted by the Austrian daily newspaper Die Presse and the public broadcaster ORF. In its initial statement, however, the Group only referred to a single company, Huber Holding AG, and denied all business relations with the Thai company Body Fashion. Questions regarding other companies in the Huber Group remained unanswered. In a second, later statement, the Huber Group announced that further internal investigations had revealed indications that a business relationship existed with Body Fashion. The Huber Group stated that it would investigate this further and expected full cooperation from its own suppliers.
Above: activists demonstrate outside of a newly opened Victoria’s Secret store in Utrecht, Netherlands