Starmer says listings like Shein’s to face labour rights scrutiny

ALL companies looking to sell shares in London will face scrutiny over workers’ rights, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Bloomberg Television, in response to questions about whether his new Labour government would welcome a listing by online fashion giant Shein.

“I’m not going to get into individual businesses. What I will say – let me be very clear about it – standards and high standards do matter to us,” Starmer said in an interview with Bloomberg’s Head of Economics and Government Stephanie Flanders at the International Investment Summit in London on Monday (Oct 14). “Of course, we will be looking at any issue,” he continued, “with a particular feature on the rights of the workforce.”

Shein’s possible initial public offering (IPO) could help rebuild momentum in London after a string of defections from its stock markets. Valued at US$66 billion in its last funding round, Singapore-headquartered Shein confidentially filed papers in June for a possible London IPO, Bloomberg News reported at the time.

A Bloomberg study in 2022 found that garments shipped to the US by Shein were made with cotton from China’s Xinjiang region, where the US State Department has alleged human rights abuses against the Uyghur people, which China denies. Though the firm has said it has a “zero-tolerance policy for forced labour”, an earlier plan to list in New York was met with opposition from US lawmakers.

A share sale in London would also be controversial after Starmer’s party made boosting protection for workers a key pledge in its election manifesto. The government published draft legislation last week seeing to balance the competing demands of trade unions and business leaders, including greater entitlements to sick pay and protection against unfair dismissal.

“We have been really clear that we see that as two sides of the same coin when it comes to growth, good employment rights and protections,” Starmer said. “They are not a drag on growth. They are fundamental for growth, and I think pretty well all good businesses understand that.” BLOOMBERG