Hugo Boss shareholders heard about the luxury fashion brand’s illegal treatment of union members in Turkey at the company’s annual general meeting in Stuttgart, Germany.

The company has a long-running anti-union policy in Izmir, which has seen many unionised workers illegally sacked since Industrial Global Union’s Turkish affiliate, Teksif, began organising at the factory in 2011.

Said Industrial Organizing and Campaigns Director Adam Lee, that Hugo Boss’ anti-union behaviour in Izmir is a threat to shareholder value. The ongoing violations have generated negative media coverage. Over 107,000 potential Hugo Boss customers have signed a petition demanding that Hugo Boss respect workers’ rights. The longer these violations in Izmir continue, the greater the risk that the Hugo Boss brand will be damaged.

Out of the 163 lawsuits for unfair dismissals since October 2011, the Turkish courts have sided with workers in 76 per cent of finalised cases. The Fair Labor Association (FLA), which Hugo Boss is affiliated to, also concluded in a January 2016 report that many of these dismissals were related to unionization efforts.

Meanwhile, despite the court decisions and FLA report, Hugo Boss claims there are no problems in Izmir.