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UK lawmakers summon Shein and Temu for questioning over labour practices

Both online retailers have faced allegations of poor working practices at product factories in China and of forced labour in supply chains

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Shein and Temu sell clothes, shoes, gadgets and accessories at rock-bottom prices. Photo: Reuters

Fast-fashion online retailer Shein, which is hoping to list in London, faces a UK hearing on January 7 where a British parliamentary committee plans to question the firm, founded in China in 2008, about the rights of workers in its supply chain.

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The cross-party Business and Trade Committee will also question Temu, the global online marketplace owned by Chinese e-commerce firm PDD Holdings, as part of an inquiry into employment rights opened in October.

The committee, chaired by former Labour minister Liam Byrne, is examining the government’s flagship employment rights bill in the context of protections for British workers. But it is also looking at how to ensure adequate protection against importing poor labour standards, including concerns over forced labour.
Shein’s general counsel for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Yinan Zhu, has been called to be a witness, an update on the committee website showed.
Temu is a global online marketplace owned by Chinese e-commerce firm PDD Holdings. Photo: Reuters
Temu is a global online marketplace owned by Chinese e-commerce firm PDD Holdings. Photo: Reuters

Stephen Heary, senior legal counsel at Temu, and Leonard Klenner, senior compliance manager at Temu, have also been asked to give evidence.

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