Exclusive: Supermarket faces landmark lawsuit in the UK from 130 former workers alleging negligence
report being trapped in effective forced labour, working 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions, a Guardian investigation has found.
The Guardian has investigated the allegations made by the former factory workers and interviewed 21 of them in Mae Sot. They described:Detailed records kept by supervisors seen by the Guardian show the majority of workers on their lines were paid less than £4 a day and only according to how much they could make. The Thai minimum wage then was £7 for an 8-hour day.
More than a dozen of the workers interviewed said the factory opened bank accounts for them and then confiscated the cards and passwords so they could make it appear they were paid minimum wage while paying much less in cash. Tesco started using the factory in 2017, despite its own initial inspection identifying areas of non-compliance that experts say should have been red flags.Tesco was not involved in the day-to-day running of the factory beyond setting and checking standards and placing orders. In a groundbreaking move, however, workers in Tesco’s supply chain are seeking to hold Tesco to account for allegedly failing to protect them.
Burmese migrant families left off fireworks outside their home as they celebrate Tazaungdaing festival in Mae Sot last month.A claim has been issued in the high court and is expected to be served in the new year. Also facing legal action are Ek Chai, which had been the Thai branch of Tesco’s business, until it was sold to Charoen Pokphand Group in December 2020.
In August 2020, 136 workers at VKG were dismissed, which they said happened after they asked for better pay and conditions in the wake of the audit. They tried to get compensation from the factory directly. David Welsh, the country director of the Solidarity Center Thailand, said the courts tended to side with employers and that Mae Sot was “very much the wild west of the global supply chain”.
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