by CHRISTOPHER HAZOU

Laurence Lewin is flying pretty high these days. When the flamboyant president and chief operating officer of Montreal-based La Senza Corporation isn’t browbeating supplicants on the new CBC television show The Dragons’ Den or manning the helm of the retail giant he co-founded in 1990, you might find him taking a spin in his antique fire engine, part of his collection of exotic automobiles. The employees of the Gina Form Bra factory in Thailand, where La Senza used to manufacture its lingerie, on the other hand, aren’t doing so well.

Three years ago, management at Gina, which is owned by La Senza supplier Clover Group International, tried to break the union. Activists mounted a successful campaign and convinced companies like the Gap and Victoria’s Secret to support the workers. Eventually, Clover Group relented and agreed to the union’s demands, but La Senza chose to abandon Gina, switching production to another factory.

“It’s one of the few factories in that area that has an independent union and decent working conditions,” says Kevin Thomas of the Toronto-based Maquila Solidarity Network. “These are workers who organized, who managed—at great cost—to fight for their rights and get a collective agreement.”

But last month, 1,600 mostly young, female employees were informed that they will be losing their jobs at the end of October. The Clover Group is shifting production to China, where independent unions are banned and wages low.

Ethical on paper

Meanwhile, Lewin made his debut last week on the CBC’s latest excruciating attempt at reality television. The much-publicized Dragons’ Den stars Lewin and four other Canadian business titans who berate and pass judgment on a procession of aspiring entrepreneurs/crackpots/victims.

This week, while Lewin was holding court on The Dragons’ Den, about 1,000 Gina workers defied martial law imposed by the new Thai military government to protest problems with their severance pay.

“One of the biggest problems we’re facing is that there’s been no sustainable change—despite all the talk in the industry about better codes of conduct,” says Thomas. “Whenever there are real gains made, companies shift their orders and production somewhere else.”

Indeed, La Senza’s Web site makes much of its commitment to “social responsibility.” Its “Ethical Trade Code of Conduct” states that, “All workers should have the right to join or form trade unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively.” There’s even mention of an “ethical standards manager,” although no one reached at La Senza seemed to know anything about such a person or position.

Thomas applauds La Senza’s lofty ideals, but he and others question whether they actually attempt to live up to them.

“To be fair, La Senza has one of the best codes of conduct of any of the Canadian companies we’ve looked at. It’s quite strong on freedom of association, on wages and all those things,” he says. “The trick with standards is that they’re only good if you actually apply them. The code of conduct is absolutely meaningless unless they’re going to back it up with action.”

Conditions off limits

Activists want La Senza to back up their proclaimed ideals by pressuring Clover to keep the Gina factory open. So far, it seems La Senza isn’t listening.

“They’ve refused to talk to us,” says Thomas. “The two times that we’ve tried to address issues with La Senza about worker rights and their supply chain, their response has been the same: they just ignore us.” Thomas says it’s increasingly difficult to find out about La Senza’s labour practices because they will not discuss them with activists or the press.

Initially enthusiastic about speaking to the Mirror about The Dragons’ Den, La Senza spokespeople failed to respond to requests to discuss labour issues or their Asian suppliers.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re having to discuss things publicly,” Thomas says. “Other companies like the Gap and Victoria’s Secret have been willing to do something about this. It’s only La Senza that’s holding back.

“They may not be in ultimate control over what happens, but we think they have some responsibility to address where and how their goods are produced.”