Zara customers discover notes inside clothing from workers asking for long-overdue wages

Zara clothing has been used by factory workers in Istanbul to complain about unpaid wages. Shoppers reportedly found notes sewn into their garments that reads, “I made this item you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it.”

Workers supposedly noted that they were employed by third-party manufacturer Bravo Tekstil, which allegedly shuttered last year. It also supposedly made garments for Mango and Next.

The workers introduced themselves as “textile workers in Turkey who have been working for years to make profits for brands.” Inditex (Zara), Next and Mango were mentioned. According to them, they demand no more than their basic rights, and that brands give them basic respect to compensate their labour. They call on the international community to support their campaign.

Signed, 140 Bravo Factory Textile Workers

A change.org petition has been launched for the cause. Workers have been campaigning to get some months of back wages and severance they say they are owed.

“We produced their products under close surveillance by the brands and saw the power the brands wield to ensure their working standards are followed by their supplier factories,” the petition reads. Workers said that by July of 2016, their boss refused to give them a big portion of wages they earned making each brands’ clothing.

Creditors reportedly came to the factory and seized valuables and machines as their boss disappeared with their wages. The petition now has 19,820 supporters.

Inditex, Zara’s parent company, said it is working on a proposal with the local IndustriALL affiliate, Mango and Next to establish a “hardship fund” for the workers. In its statement to Refinery29, Inditex said it has met all contractual obligations to Bravo Textil [sic].

The hardship fund will cover unpaid wages, unused vacation, notice indemnity and severance payments of workers affected by the fraudulent disappearance of the Bravo factory’s owner. It stressed its commitment to find a swift solution for all of those impacted.

Since last year, union representative DiSK Tekstil, with the support of Clean Clothes Campaign and IndustriAll Global Union, has been negotiating with brands on the workers’ behalf. Workers said they have waited for the conclusion of these negotiations with “patience and hope” for a year.

Inditex is based in Spain and is known as one of the world's largest fashion retailers. It owns 7,405 stores and provides work for 162,450, CNBC notes.