Italian fashion house Gucci said it would strengthen controls on its suppliers after a television programme showed Chinese employees in Italy working more than three times their official hours to assemble its handbags.
The head of a Gucci subcontractor told an investigative programme broadcast by RAI state television on Sunday that Gucci was aware it irregularly employed Chinese workers.
Aroldo Guidotti of subcontractor Mondo Libero said the employees toiled away for as long as 14 hours a day, while they were supposed to work only for four hours, to assemble handbags that he sold to Gucci for €24 (HK$228). The bags sell in shops for about US$1,000.
In a statement responding to the Report TV show, Gucci on Monday said it had acted properly but pledged to raise the number of inspections at its suppliers.
Working conditions in plants producing garments and accessories have become an increasingly global issue as activists and trade unionists campaign against long hours and low wages in developing countries or among immigrants in industrialised states.
The Tuscan fashion house said it had carried out numerous inspections at Mondo Libero, which is based near Florence. The supplier had proved that it had mostly solved irregularities in working conditions.