(Image: Minister of Labour, “Pipat Ratchakijprakarn” with Body Fashion workers. Published on Sia Jampatong’s official Facebook page)
BANGKOK – On 30th November, around 50 workers gathered at the Ministry of Labour with protest signs referring to global brands like “Victoria’s Secret” and “Huber.” After a series of layoffs in 2019, over a thousand workers are still waiting for their severance and compensation payment from “Body Fashion Thailand,” a manufacturer for a variety of international women’s undergarments. The Thai labour inspection ruled that over a hundred million Baht in severance and compensation is due.
(This article is a translation of this article on Prakaifai with some additional context added.)
The Nakhon Sawan based Body Fashion Thailand made products for brands like Victoria’s Secret, Triumph, Sloggi, HOM, Marks & Spencer, Valisere, Huber. Body Fashion Thailand operates two large factories and one smaller factory in different provinces. Two in Samut Prakan and another in Nakhon Sawan. The factories employed around 2,700 workers in total and had a maximum manufacturing capacity of around 1,000,000 pieces of undergarments per month.
On 28th January 2016, Body Fashion Thailand announced that they have been acquired by a new ownership called “Magellan Group.” The group is an Australian garment company which took over the factory in Bang Plee, Samut Prakan with Mr. Robert NG as the factory head. The acquisition promised to continue the operations with former work contracts and would strive to increase production for popular brands.
Body Fashion Thailand reaffirmed that the tactical partnership between Triumph, an undergarment brand, and Magellan Group would allow Body Fashion to continue making products for Triumph. However, from 2019 to 2021, Body Fashion workers have been gradually terminated. Around 1,174 workers in total have been laid off at this time.
[evidence of statement by Robert NG]
Body Fashion workers have filed complaints to local labour inspection and received an official order for Body Fashion Thailand to pay its workers for severance and compensation of over a hundred million Thai Baht. The company has not complied so far. The issue was brought to court and concluded in another order for Body Fashion Thailand to repossess some of its properties but this also hasn’t been carried out yet.
On 30th November 2023, over 50 workers from Nakhon Sawan and Samut Prakan travelled to the Ministry of labour in Bangkok, accompanied by Sia Jampatong and Wanwipa Maison, MPs from Move Forward Party, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, a prominent labour rights activist, and David Welsh from Solidarity Center. There, Pipat Ratchakijprakarn, the minister along with his secretary, Ari Kraikana and other members of the staff meet the workers to receive their letter of complaint for further follow-up on the issue.
Somyot Pruksakasemsuk commented that the Ministry of Labour has failed to uphold the law and must be responsible for the financial damages that the workers suffered. The ministry must utilise the Employee Welfare Fund to pay the workers in accordance with the amount specified by the labour inspection. He added that the Employee Welfare Fund could then repossess the company property in return later.
He cited that in the past, a former minister by the name, “Ekkaporn Rakkwamsuk” has successfully employed this method for similar issues before. Thus, Somyot would like the current Ministry of labour to sort out the issue regarding Body Fashion within the 15th of December 2023.
For the workers from Nakorn Sawan and Bang Plee, the Employee Welfare Fund has already paid them a total of around 43 million Thai Baht in compensation. However, the fund committee will decide later on whether to compensate the workers in full in accordance with their rights.
Ari Kraikana, the secretary to the minister, was tasked with receiving complaints from the Body Fashion workers. He said that he used to be a protest guard for the red shirts who stood with pro-democracy protesters and land reform protesters. He said that he understands the plight of the people and will do his best to help the workers get what they should’ve gotten according to their rights and the law.
David Welsh said that his organisation, Solidarity Center has successfully negotiated with Victoria’s Secret to pay laid off workers in Thailand before. For this current issue, international organisations will take part in campaigning for joint responsibility for the compensation of Body Fashion workers in Nakhon Sawan and Samut Prakan.
In 2022, Solidarity Center reported that 1,250 workers, who’ve produced undergarments for Victoria’s Secret, Lane Bryant, and Torrid in Thailand, were finally paid by Victoria’s Secret after being laid off by Brilliant Alliance Thai Global factory in 2021. The workers, in cooperation with the Clean Clothes campaign, the “#PayYourWorkers” campaign, and labour rights organisations received over 281 million Thai Baht in total as a result.
However, the future is still unclear for the 1,174 Body Fashion workers. Unlike the Brilliant Alliance workers who were represented by the Triumph International Union and its affiliate the Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand, Body Fashion workers aren’t currently unionised and would have to organise a gruelling campaign to tackle a similar challenge.
The English information here is compiled and published by Chalit Ratapana, an international coordinator for the Body Fashion workers.
If any reader wishes to directly contact representatives of the Body Fashion workers, they may request contact information via this email “chalitnew@gmail.com”
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