"Joint Letter: Labour Right violations undertaken by Global Brands Group's sourcing partner in El Salvador", 29 November 2018

...We are contacting you regarding your sourcing relationship with the L.D. El Salvador... factory (LD) in El Salvador... Global Brands Group (GBG)... was one of LD’s largest buyers in the period leading to its sudden shut down on March 7th of this year. This special relationship leaves you with obligations to the workers... and a responsibility to ensure the factory operated within the confines of Salvadoran law...

As you are aware... the owner of LD... refused to pay workers two weeks of outstanding wages, legally-mandated severance payments, and other terminal benefits totaling $2.3 Million USD [and]... went so far as to flee El Salvador... This failure to meet outstanding financial obligations is negatively impacting the 824 former workers of LD, who are owed an average of $2800 (USD) under Salvadoran law.

...LD workers were relying on severance payments legally-owed to them to support themselves and their families until they were able to find new work.

...where a factory owner fails to meet severance obligations... it is typical, and many buyer codes of conduct require, for brands sourcing from the factory to ensure compliance... including paying all legally-mandated severance. Unfortunately, GBG is choosing to disregard this responsibility... and has instead offered workers a one-time “humanitarian” payment of $300,000 USD, while expressly denying any further commitments.

...the sum owed to the works amounts to less than 1% of GBG’s 2017 revenues... More so, the payment represents a portion of what the workers are owed for their labor and is by no means an act of “humanitarian” charity on the part of GBG.

...we encourage you to justly compensate workers and meet your legally-required severance obligations... by covering the $2.3 Million USD owed to LD workers in its entirety...