On 3 December, two unions representing Triumph International workers, the Triumph International (Thailand) Labour Union (TITLU) and the Bagong Pagkakaisa ng mga Manggagawa sa Triumph International Philippines (BPMTI) or New Unity of Workers of Triumph International), filed an OECD complaint against the Swiss multinational for laying off thousands of workers at its factories in Thailand and the Philippines. The complaint states that Triumph failed to enter negotiations with the workers’ unions and has therefore violated the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises as well as ILO Convention 158. In the complaint, the unions reveal a hidden agenda of Triumph to get rid of its most outspoken workforce in both countries.
Triumph International’s subsidiary Body Fashion (Thailand) Ltd. (Body Fashion) had announced that it would lay off 1,930 employees effective 28 August because of the global economic downturn. However, TITLU advisor Ms. Jittra Kotchadet insisted that the real reason for the layoffs was the company’s wish to move its manufacturing base to a non-union plant in Nakhon Sawan. The Body Fashion workers subject to lay-offs were primarily involved in the discontinued swimwear production, but a select group of bra makers were also dismissed, including most of the members of the trade union committee. On 6 August, three TITLU leaders led a protest of about 400 union members to petition the Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva to help in their dispute with Body Fashion, which resulted in the police issuing arrest warrants for two TITLU officials, Secretary General Ms. Bunrod Saiwong and advisor Ms. Jitra Kotchadet. The officials surrendered to the police on 18 November but were released on bail the same day.