“Thailand’s auditing industry fails to protect migrant workers: activists”

…The factory prepared pre-selected workers and exchanged rehearsed questions and answers with the auditing company, said the Burmese migrant worker, who requested an alias for her safety…

In many parts of Southeast Asia, where Western …rely on private “social auditing” companies…

Some labor advocates, however, contend that audits can be self-serving and overlook harsh conditions faced by workers.

“It’s essentially the industry policing itself,” said Dave Welsh, Myanmar country director of labor rights group, Solidarity Center…

Intertek Testing Services Thailand, an auditing firm, has faced criticism from campaign and advocacy groups like U.K.-based Labour Behind the Label… and claims the company “allegedly failed to identify serious issues” at VK Garments factory… [see more information here]

The Thailand office of Intertek Testing Services did not respond to an RFA request for comment. Calls to its U.K. office went unanswered.

In 2020, over 3,300 workers Thailand’s Hong Seng Knitting factory in Bangkok, which supplies Nike, were allegedly coerced into signing documentation…

Nike cited a report done by auditing company Elevate to back up its position of no wrongdoing…

Nike did not respond to RFA attempts to seek comment, nor did LRQA, which acquired Elevate in 2022. [read more, incl. Nike’s 2023 response to the Resource Centre, here].