Hana I Inc.

On June 23, 2020, Hana I Inc. declared bankruptcy and announced it would close, claiming financial losses due to the pandemic. Nine months later, the 774 workers it fired have only received $65,000, which included payment for unused annual leave and a portion of the money the factory owes them for its failure provide advance notice of the factory closure. They are still owed $1,015,000.

Hana I is owned by Hana Global, a Korean factory conglomerate that continues to operate four other factories—one in Cambodia, two in Vietnam, and one in South Korea. In addition to severance and the missing portion of the notice pay, Hana I failed to pay damages, which workers are owed under Cambodian law when a company does not provide evidence of a valid cause for cessation of operations—which Hana I failed to do.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with the company to secure their pay, workers sought the personal intervention of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. They attempted to march to his house but were blocked by local authorities.

Workers reported to the WRC that they sewed for Joe Fresh, The Children’s Place, Walmart, and Zara. July 2020 import records show shipments headed to Joe Fresh’s parent, the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaw. In addition, Gap acknowledged to the WRC that it sources from the embroidery facility Hana Cambodia Inc., which is also owned by Hana Global. This puts Gap in a position to press Hana Global to pay the workers.

Read More:

• Fired, Then Robbed: Fashion brands’ complicity in wage theft during Covid-19 – April 2021