Italy arrests Chinese workshop owner over labour exploitation in fashion supply chain

MILAN (Reuters) -Italian police said on Tuesday they arrested a Chinese national for alleged labour exploitation and shut down a workshop in the Milan area producing items for the fashion industry.

Checks are currently under way on the branded clothing products found in the workshop, police said, without disclosing which brands were involved.

The announcement came just days after a unit of fashion brand Valentino was put under court administration over worker abuse inside its supply chain, one of a string of cases that have tainted the image of Italy's luxury brands.

In this latest case, Carabinieri police from the Milan labour protection unit said they closed the workshop in the northwestern suburbs of Milan on May 13.

Police identified 10 Chinese labourers who were victims of exploitation. Six of them were working off the books without proper registration and five were also illegal immigrants.

The staff were forced to work up to 90 hours a week, seven days a week, and were paid 4 euros ($4.50) an hour, Carabinieri said in a statement.

"The workers slept in rooms illegally set up inside the factory, which appeared to be a sort of dormitory with terrible

hygiene and sanitary conditions," they said.

The police investigation was launched when a worker reported his employer for breaking his hand, causing injuries that required 45 days of treatment, after the worker demanded 10,000 euros in unpaid wages.

Italy is home to thousands of small manufacturers that make up 50%-55% of global luxury goods production, consultancy Bain has calculated.

Investigations by Italian magistrates have over the last years exposed widespread exploitation of workers in the fashion and luxury supply chain.

Milan's court proposed a scheme in June 2024 under which luxury firms should strengthen checks on suppliers to ensure they respected labour laws. ($1 = 0.8902 euros

(Reporting by Emilio ParodiEditing by Keith Weir and Tomasz Janowski)