"Indian factory workers supplying major brands allege routine exploitation", 17 November 2020

Indian workers in factories supplying the supermarket chains Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury's, and the fashion brand Ralph Lauren, told the BBC they are being subjected to exploitative conditions... [Workers]... said they had been forced to stay overnight to complete orders, sometimes requiring them to sleep on the factory floor... [and] they had been made to endure conditions which would be unacceptable for staff employed by the same brands in the UK.

"We don't get toilet breaks, we don't get time to drink water on shift. We barely get time to eat lunch," one woman said. She said a manager would sometimes stand behind staff in the canteen and blow a whistle to send them back to work. Another employee said staff were forced to work overtime ... "They've increased our workload. We're forced to stay late to finish it - or they yell at us and threaten to fire us. We're scared as we don't want to lose our jobs."...

Ralph Lauren said it was deeply concerned by the allegations... and would investigate. "We require all of our suppliers to meet strict operating standards to ensure a safe, healthy and ethical workplace, and we conduct regular third-party audits at all factories,"...

The factory supplying the fashion brand denied the staff members' allegations and said it was compliant with the law....

Sainsbury's said it was "insisting on a number of actions the supplier must take in order for us to continue to work with them", including "immediate actions and ongoing commitments the supplier must make while we continue to closely monitor the site".

Tesco said: "We don't tolerate any abuse of workers' rights and fully investigated these allegations as soon as we were made aware. We were deeply troubled with what we found."... its plan included "prohibiting excessive overtime, strengthening grievance procedures" and ensuring workers were "fully compensated at the correct rates for hours they've worked".

Marks & Spencer said it "undertook an immediate unannounced audit" in the wake of the claims... [and] "identified overtime working practices that are not acceptable", but disputed worker accounts about access to toilet breaks and water. The company also said it had a "robust" plan in place and would be "undertaking regular unannounced audits to ensure its implementation"...

[O]ne owner of a clothing supplier... [said] that if brands push for cheaper clothes it can leave suppliers with no choice but to cut corners... "It's the brand who wants to maximize the profit. So, they push you to a level wherein you have to do the exploitation in order to survive," he said... [and] described some factory audit processes as a "sham"...