Thai employees who were laid off last year from a factory supplying global lingerie brands, including Victoria’s Secret, are set to receive $8.3 million in one of the largest settlements of its kind.
Approximately 1,200 employees were sacked by Brilliance Alliance Thai (BAT) Global Co Ltd, which let them go without the wages owed to them or severance pay. The lingerie production facility went bankrupt and closed its Samut Prakan factory in March 2021.
The settlement will be financed by Victoria’s Secret in a loan arranged with BAT. It is hoped that the settlement will set a precedent for global brands to do more for the rights of workers in their supply chains.
"Global brands need to realise that they are not passive investors, but trend-setters in setting labour standards," commented David Welsh, the Thailand director for the Solidarity Center.
