" Bangalore Garment Workers Score ‘Landmark' Win With Covid-19 Settlement", 27 January 2025

India's Garment Labour Union can't say exactly, but the payout it agreed upon with Sonal Apparel Private Limited Industries, a Bangalore-based supplier to Western retailers such as Primark, Only & Sons and The Children's Place, is, suffice to say, "significant." It's also the hard-won result of a three-year legal battle that it waged alongside the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, a consortium of garment trade unions, before the Bangalore Industrial Tribunal. At stake: the wages GLU said were "unlawfully withheld" from SAPL Industries' 317 workers during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2021.

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That the SAPL Industries' case, which GLU and AFWA filed in 2022, would be accepted by India's deputy labor commissioner was a "historic feat" in and of itself, those involved said.

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Despite what GLU characterized as objections from the suppliers and the named brands, the complaint wended its way through the government's labor wing to land in front of the Bangalore Industrial Tribunal for trial. SAPL Industries, which did not respond to a request for comment, settled before a ruling could have established a major legal precedent

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A spokesperson for Bestseller, which owns Only & Sons, said that it welcomed the resolution of the "long-running case," throughout which it has "remained committed" to "facilitating dialogue and fostering a constructive atmosphere for resolution." Primark also said that it supported open dialogue alongside its fellow buyers and that it's "pleased" to see the resolution of this case. The Children's Place did not return an email seeking comment.