Major brands including fashion label Zara are investigating reports of mass sackings of union workers in their supply chains, amid fears from labor advocates that coronavirus has fuelled ‘union-busting’ at factories across Southeast Asia. As the pandemic batters global economy, numerous Western retailers have cancelled orders or demanded discounts from suppliers in countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand, leading to many workers going without pay or being sacked.

Unions and activists in the region said factory bosses were targeting and firing union members while keeping on non-unionised workers, and feared that the outbreak could spur a rollback of rights on issues from decent pay to safe workplaces.

Fashion brands Bestseller, Mango, Primark and Zara have launched probes into reports of union-busting in Myanmar. Inditex-owned Zara confirmed it was looking into the issue, while Bestseller and Britain-based Primark said they were also investigating but that the sackings were in line with Myanmar’s labor laws.