WeeklySA_AdminSued: Trade Union activists who supported the workers are now being sued by the company for defamation
By Monk Nkomo
Several Pakistani migrants who were allegedly subjected to abusive working conditions including working long hours and earning meagre wages while in the employ of a supplier of the Geneva-based luxury goods group, Richemont, have turned to the courts to challenge their dismissals – a price they paid for fighting for their labour rights.
These startling claims highlighting the other side of the ‘’ Made in Italy’’ fashion scene which perpetuates a system of alleged exploitation at the heart of Europe, are contained in the latest report by Public Eye, an independent Swiss organization which has, for the past 50 years, campaigned for fair globalisation. It has also shed light on human rights violations and had conducted intensive investigations into cases of unfair labour practices and corruption.
The company’s latest report revolved around their recent trip to Tuscany to investigate a labour dispute between migrant workers from Pakistan and Richemont, the second largest luxury goods group in the world . Until 2024 these workers were employed by Z Production, a factory that manufactured leather goods for the prestigious Montblanc brand, owned by the Richemont Group.
Richemont , a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company, is part of the multi-billion rand business empire owned by South Africa’s richest man, Johann Rupert. It sells jewellery, watches, leather goods, pens and accessories through its subsidiaries.
According to the Public Eye report, the Pakistani workers, often hired as “apprentices” and or “part-time” workers, had to allegedly work up to 70 hours a week for a pittance of 900 to 1000 Euros per month, which worked out at about three euros per hour.
‘’They were not given any days off or offered the social protection guaranteed by law. Exploitative conditions of this nature are very widespread in this region, which is Europe’s fashionwear centre, where most workshops have Chinese owners’’.
With a view to combating these abuses, the employees joined the local trade union, Sudd Cobas, which launched an “overtime strike”. This protest enabled them to obtain legal working conditions and decent wages.
Interviews by Public Eye revealed that shortly after Z Production and the union had reached this agreement, Richemont terminated its contract with the factory at the end of 2023, citing violations of its supplier code of conduct. While unionized workers lost their jobs, the Group, which amassed 2.6 billion dollars in profit in 2024, absolved itself of any responsibility. In January, Richemont, even filed a complaint for defamation and coercion against officials of the Sudd Cobas after allegedly trying to ban the protests staged outside the Montblanc boutique in Florence.
‘’ Rather than face up to its responsibilities towards the sacked workers, Richemont is now suing the trade union activists who supported them for defamation’’, Public Eye said.
The alleged scandalous practices uncovered at Z Production were not an isolated case, yet Richemont had not taken any credible measures to remedy them in its supply chain. According to the report, in November 2024, an Al Jazeera documentary, partly filmed with hidden camera, exposed serious abuses at another factory in Florence, which allegedly picked up orders for Montblanc leather bags after the contract with Z Production was terminated.
The group had also been aware of other cases involving alleged exploitation related to its products. In 2020, a complaint was filed against the management of a factory in the region manufacturing Chloé bags, another of the group’s brands. The ruling, which was issued in April 2023, reported working conditions like those at Z Production, and even the use of physical violence against workers.
‘’Public Eye is calling on Richemont to finally take responsibility, both towards the redundant workers and across its entire supply chain’’.
During their investigations, one of the alleged victims of exploitation, Muhammad Arslan showed the Public Eye investigators his employment contract at Z Production, dated 12th July 2019. At that time, he had already been employed in the factory for about two years and due to the company changing name – a common practice in Italy when companies ran into problems with the authorities – he was given a new contract. It stated that he was employed as a “part-time apprentice” for a limited period of three years. The working hours were indicated in a table: Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.- 30 hours a week.
However the reality was different according to Arslan . “We had to work until eight o’clock in the evening, twelve hours a day, with just a half-hour break. And six days a week into the bargain. We couldn’t take any holidays either.”
For the additional hours, he claimed that he received a few hundred euros in cash, but he also had some of this deducted again, so that he ended up with a total of 900 to 1000 euros per month which was around three euros per hour. Arslan added : “Life consisted of work only. When you are spending so many hours in the factory, you do not even have time to go shopping or wash your clothes.”
In the Summer of 2022, Arslan, Ali and eleven other colleagues in their department decided to fight back. They heard from other workers in their accommodation that there was a recently formed trade union that was involved in taking on cases like theirs. On 31st August, 2022, they rang the bell at the glass door of Sudd Cobas’ office. This union had been active in the Prato area since 2018 and currently had around 600 members from a wide range of industries. It was organized on a grassroots basis.
According to the Public Eye report, the 13 Pakistani workers from Z Production and the sub-contractor, Eurotaglio joined the trade union soon after their first visit to the office. After several meetings, they decided to go on an “overtime strike”. In other words, from then onwards they would do what was written in their employment contracts and prescribed by law: they would stop work after completing their regular working hours and not turn up at weekends.
This was accompanied by an e-mail drafted and sent by the union to the Head of Z Production demanding that the 13 workers should be employed in accordance with the law and compensated for hours worked and not paid.
The pressure had an immediate effect. The price that Richemont paid Z Production was apparently so marginal that even discounting the overtime for 13 workers meant that the company could no longer meet the agreed volumes and deliver at the agreed price – at least this was the complaint made by the factory owner to union activists according to Francesca Ciuffi, organizer of the trade union.
‘’Both parties got round the table for discussions, which were successful. On 9th February 2023, Muhammad Arslam, Hassan Ali and their eleven colleagues signed an agreement with Z Production/ Eurotaglio.
It was agreed not to disclose the details. However, what it meant in practice was that the 13 workers would no longer be required to work more than the legal maximum and they would be able to enjoy their entitlement to holidays and sick leave. The salary was also good,” according to Arslan. “ It was around 1500 euros a month.”
A few weeks later, the boss of Z Production announced – along with a large part of the workforce – that they no longer had any work for these workers. Pelletteria Richemont (Richemont Leather Goods), the group’s local subsidiary in Scandicci near Florence, had slashed production volumes and informed the company on 28th February, 2023 that it would be terminating its contract with Z Production at the end of the year.
‘’Richemont justified this in a statement to Public Eye and the network, Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) by saying that Z Production had repeatedly failed to comply with Richemont’s Code of Conduct for Suppliers’’.
According to the group, this decision was made “following persistent incidents of non-compliance resulting in an irredeemable loss of trust in the management’s willingness to comply (…) The discovery of an undeclared subcontractor during Deloitte’s forensic audit in January and February 2023 served as the breaking point (…).”
Other violations identified in nine audits, carried out by independent companies between November 2019 and February 2023, were cited by Richemont in its statement as violations of ”health and safety protocols (namely fire prevention measures), the lack of a functioning electronic working time recording system and important documentation (including a employment contract, a residence permit and a missing residence permit).”
Public Eye said when asked about labour rights violations, Richemont stated that the repeated occurrence of violations such as the lack of a time recording system had ”aroused suspicion”, but that all these audits “did not uncover definitive evidence of poor working conditions, as alleged by former Z Production employees.” The company allegedly declined a request to share the audit documents.
In the wake of the downturn in production and termination of contract in Spring 2023, Sudd Cobas organized fresh protest actions outside the factory together with the workers.
After this manifestation, several rounds of discussions were held involving all the stakeholders, which resulted in a large proportion of the orders initially being given back to Z Production about a month later. In addition, representatives of Sudd Cobas were negotiating with Pelletteria Richemont with the aim of ensuring that the unionized workers could continue to be employed on the same terms by the new supplier following termination of the contract with Z Production.
Ciuffi said : “Richemont had shown that it was willing to reach such an agreement during the negotiations. We then drafted a written proposal. But when it came to discussing and signing it, they suddenly withdrew.” The union subsequently tried on a number of occasions to resume negotiations – to no avail, until today.
Public Eye said Richemont, in its statement, did not address the reasons for their withdrawal from negotiations. ‘’They merely point out that they gave notice of termination of the contract with Z Production earlier than required by law and thus gave the company enough time to find new clients. Furthermore, Richemont rejects any responsibility for the fate of the workers: Suppliers are autonomous businesses and (…) it is entirely up to them to decide whom to hire or, indeed, make redundant should they decide to.”
In September 2023, Montblanc’s order volume at Z Production again allegedly plummeted. In October, the entire ‘Star Department’ was closed. After the production contract with Richemont expired at the end of the year, the company continued to work for other brands with low production volumes and a small number of workers.
Sudd Cobas negotiated a “solidarity” contract with the regional government “Regione Toscana”, guaranteeing the affected workers a certain amount of working hours and the payment of a portion of their wages.
In 2024, the union continued to cooperate with the workers in keeping up the pressure through protest actions. When the solidarity contract expired in October 2024, all unionized workers were dismissed. Sudd Cobas joined forces with other unions and members of the international network Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) – of which Public Eye is a member – to stage an international day of protest with demonstrations outside Montblanc stores in various Italian cities, as well as in Berlin, Lyon, Zurich, Geneva and Basel. They shouted “Made in Italy? – Shame in Italy!”.
The protests were attracting attention, including from the media – apparently too much for Montblanc’s liking. In January 2025, Sudd Cobas found out that the company was taking legal action against it. The luxury brand instituted proceedings at a local civil court, calling for an immediate ban on demonstrations by Sudd Cobas activists outside its stores. Ciuffi was outraged.
“This petition is absolutely unconstitutional. Since the 1970s no private entity has ever tried to achieve anything similar in Italy. It demands that the right to make profits be given precedence over the right to demonstrate!”
At the same time, Montblanc sued the three Sudd Cobas officials, Ciuffi, Sarah Caudiero and Luca Toscano for defamation and coercion.
‘’As can be seen from the complaint they lodged, Montblanc was bothered about being associated with the conditions in the supplier’s factory. Coercion is a criminal offence that is typically invoked in the case of strikes in Italy’’. Montblanc withdrew its demand for a ban on demonstrations after Abiti Puliti, the Italian branch of CCC, launched a public appeal on 29th January. However, the company was still intent on bringing the criminal charges against the Sudd Cobas officials.
In its statement to Public Eye, Richemont claimed : “These individuals in particular have and continue to wage a slander campaign against Montblanc, based on testimonies from a very small number of former workers who are using the termination of the business relation with Z Producton as a means of damaging Montblanc’s reputation both in Italy and internationally’’.
The trade union, Sudd Cobas has challenged the dismissals not only against Z.Production but also against the Swiss company for which the products had been made – Richemont.
Public Eye said Z Product management did not respond to their request for comment.
Following the fight back by the dismissed workers over the alleged inhumane working conditions, Public Eye noted : ‘’ The fact that a Richemont company was filing criminal charges against the people standing up for the rights of workers – who have been exploited for years in the manufacture of their products – instead of supporting them does not sit well with the image of a socially responsible company’’.
According to the Public Eye report, Richemont, in its own statement, stated that they were not only committed to making profit but were also complying with laws and human rights including at its suppliers’ companies.
