BANGKOK, (Reuters) – Eighty-three million dollars will be paid to Thai workers, who were fired last year at a factory that supplies global lingerie brands like Victoria’s Secret. This settlement is said by labour activists as the largest of its type in the international garment industry.

Brilliant Alliance Thai Global Co Ltd (BAT(LON:),) laid off approximately 1,200 employees after the bankrupt company closed down its Samut Prakan factory in March 2021.

It was among “hundreds upon cases” of wage theft in the garment trade during the COVID-19 outbreak. According to Scott Nova (Executive Director of the Worker Rights Consortium), the settlement was financed in part by Victoria’s Secret through a loan agreement with BAT’s owners. It could be a model for other global brands that better protect workers’ rights in their supply chain, Scott Nova said.

David Welsh, director of the Solidarity Center in Thailand, said that global brands must realize they aren’t passive investors but trendsetters when it comes to setting labour standards. The organization is based in the U.S.

More than a year after BAT and its Hong Kong-based owner Clover Group refused to pay the laid-off Thai workers, Victoria’s Secret & Co said this week in an emailed statement. Clover Group owners Clover will receive a loan.

Victoria’s Secret didn’t reveal how much settlement they would pay. They stated in the statement that BAT’s own owners weren’t “in a place to settle this matter on their terms” and so “agreed not to advance the severance fund to factory owner,” but it was unclear what amount.

Reuters saw a document from the Thai labor ministry that showed that the total amount paid to workers, including any related costs, was 285.2 million baht (8.36 million).

Clover initially stated that workers must wait at least 10 years before they receive full payment.

Clover’s executive, Emily Lau, was also a member of the board of bankrupt BAT. She stated that Friday’s payment would come from “the personal assets of Angie Lau and Emily Lau”, without mentioning the Victoria’s Secret loan.

($1 = 34.1500 baht)