Gag order?
The content of the letter was posted online, where it has since provoked heated discussions. "Though the goods and reputation of Gucci seem to be positive in the international community, the employees have revealed what the brand really is and why we should stop buying it," said a web user.
After receiving the letter, which also requested overtime pay and compensation for health damages, Gucci China declined to comment on the case, only saying via e-mail on Monday that the company is investigating the accusations.
Some former Gucci employees had already asked for compensation last January, but were told by Gucci China that the company had checked out the peoples' work attendance and found no record of overtime.
For some former employees, Gucci's claim of an "investigation" is far from satisfactory. So far, there has not even been an apology from the company.
According to Xinhua, Gucci has instead issued a notice to its current staff members telling them how to respond to sensitive questions from the media, requiring them to inform the company of what they say to reporters.
"It is internal business," said one employee when pressed about the accusations made in the letter.
Call for aid
Some lawyers have suggested that the city's labor supervision departments should take steps to help protect the legal rights and interests of Gucci's workers and others like them.
But because many international companies do not allow their employees to form labor unions in Shenzhen, it is hard for union officials to collect evidence and solve labor disputes.
Reporting maltreatment to the Shenzhen Trade Union may help, according to Wang Hongli, deputy director of the Shenzhen Trade Unions' rights and interest protection department.
But more supervision regulations need to be made to protect employees working for multinational companies like Gucci, said Yang Qianwu, a lawyer in Shenzhen. An official from the Shenzhen Luohu District Bureau of Labor and Human Resources has been reportedly helping to investigate the cases.
