"H&M, Inditex Face Union-Busting Claims at Turkish Supplier", 5 August 2026

A Turkish garment workers’ union is accusing H&M Group and...Inditex of failing to act on...union-busting by one of their suppliers...

Öz İplik-İş...said it had until recently been authorized to negotiate collective bargaining agreements for workers at Eroğlu Giyim’s three sites in Istanbul, Aksaray and Çorlu. When the...denim manufacturer closed its Aksaray factory in 2025 and then its Çorlu plant the following year, talks over the remaining Istanbul plant broke down...

“They cut communication with our members, so we were not able to communicate with them,”...“And then they stopped talking to us...

The closures, which shed roughly 3,200 jobs, coincided with new export-oriented manufacturing facilities in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone...where Ay said labor costs are significantly lower and there is no trade union presence. That left only 300 employees at the Istanbul location, including 100 on the production floor, half of them union members...

...when Öz İplik-İş called a strike...factory management...threatened workers with immediate dismissal if they stepped outside to join it...

Under Turkish labor law, once an authorized union initiates a legal strike, active worker participation is required to complete the process. Because Eroğlu Giyim’s intimidation kept workers from joining the monthlong demonstration...the Labor Ministry disputed the union’s majority status and...revoked its collective bargaining authorization.

Eroğlu Giyim did not respond to a request for comment...

The brands said they would “look into it” and talk to management, but Ay said they took no concrete action and did not intervene...

H&M Group said that it takes the allegations very seriously and that while it works with Eroğlu Giyim, it does not source from the Istanbul facility. (Historic supplier data shows that the retailer sourced from the Aksaray plant in 2023.)...

“Together with other brands, we are in consistent communication with Öz İplik İş about this case. We are in touch with management as well to ensure that they understand our expectations on freedom of association and dialogue.”

Inditex... did not respond to a request for comment...