PRESS RELEASE
Thai Workers Win Historic $8.3 Million in
Back Pay, Financed by Victoria’s Secret
May 25, 2022
Agreement, the Largest Wage-Theft Settlement at a Garment Factory, Follows Year-Long Advocacy by International Labor Rights Advocates
The Solidarity Center and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) announced today that more than 1,250 Thai workers who sewed bras for
Victoria’s Secret, Lane Bryant, and Torrid—and who were fired in 2021 without their legally mandated severance—have received $8.3
million (281 million baht) in compensation. The groups credited the decision of Victoria’s Secret to finance the payments, via a loan
arrangement with the workers’ former employer.
Sycamore Partners, the parent of Lane Bryant and Torrid, did not contribute.
“This is a huge victory for the workers and a testament to the courage of their union and the strength of the international solidarity
campaign that supported them,” said David Welsh, Thailand country director of the Solidarity Center. “Low-wage garment workers left
destitute by injustice meted out by global supply chains is nothing new. What’s new is they did not accept their fate—and won. We also 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. It’s an 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’.
The workers are represented by the Triumph International Union, affiliated with the Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand.
“Our organization has documented hundreds of cases of wage theft in the apparel supply chain,” said Scott Nova, Executive Director of the
WRC. “This was the largest theft—and now the most back pay—we’ve ever seen at an individual garment factory. 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.”
After the Brilliant Alliance factory closed in March 2021, the Thai government ordered its owner, Hong Kong-based Clover Group, to pay
severance within 30 days. Clover refused, telling the factory’s 1,250 low-wage workers it had no money and they should agree to wait 10
years to be paid in full.
With the Solidarity Center’s support and advocacy, the union launched a campaign demanding their severance pay. The WRC and Solidarity
Center engaged Victoria’s Secret and Sycamore, pressing them to ensure the workers were paid. The WRC identified other brands that did
not use Brilliant Alliance, but had influence over Clover and over a key business partner, Brandix, a Sri Lankan apparel supplier: American