GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN WAS BINNED AFTER TOPSHOP OWNER PHONED CHANCELLOR GEORGE OSBORNE, WITNESS CLAIMS
* GRADUATE FOG EXCLUSIVE! *
New evidence has emerged that disgraced Topshop owner Philip Green may be one of the reasons why unpaid internships are still so prevalent in the UK’s fashion industry.
Claims have been made that he used his power to crush an effort by government officials to crack down on fashion employers paying their junior staff less than the national minimum wage – even phoning then-Chancellor George Osborne to make sure a planned press campaign aimed at ending exploitation within the industry was binned.
Tweets (pasted below) from a former official who worked within the government team responsible for enforcing the minimum wage law suggest that Philip Green was firmly opposed to a planned publicity campaign to raise awareness about fashion interns’ rights to pay, and their employers’ legal duty to provide a wage (not just expenses). This was set to follow the sending of 102 letters to UK fashion employers including Burberry, Paul Smith, Mulberry and Nicole Farhi, which happened in December 2011.
Graduate Fog understands the follow-up publicity campaign was scheduled for early 2012, but those working on it say it was suddenly and mysteriously shelved.
The author refers to Green as “An angry man with the Chancellor’s ear” who “has been pulling this crap for years.”
We already know that the issue of unpaid internships had got under Green’s skin – he seemed impervious to all the arguments about the practice being exploitative to those who work unpaid, and excluding of those who can’t.
THE THORN IN GREEN’S SIDE This menacing-looking nightmare is Emily Wong, the 22-year-old intern who Green says “spoilt it for thousands of others” by claiming she should have been paid for the “dogsbody” work she performed in the Miss Selfridge press office in 2011. A year later, Emily received a cheque for £851 from Arcadia, which the retailer insisted was not proof that she was right (and they’ll sue you if you say otherwise)
In 2014, three years after 22-year-old intern Emily Wong reported her unpaid internship at Miss Selfridge (owned by Green’s retail empire Arcadia), Green was still banging on about it, telling the Evening Standard that Emily had “spoilt it for thousands of others.”
(Yes, simply by standing up to him and pointing out the fact she was entitled to be paid for the work she had done there).
In response to the latest claims, Tanya de Grunwald, founder of Graduate Fog, said:
“We have no way of confirming the accuracy of the account in these tweets. However, if true, the story could at least partly explain why campaigners like Graduate Fog and Intern Aware were not able to make a greater impact in changing the culture of unpaid internships in the UK’s fashion industry around that time, despite passionate and sustained efforts, and overwhelming media and public support. That period was a crucial time for our campaign – and it’s frustrating to hear that there may have been more happening behind the scenes than we realised, to ensure we lost the momentum we’d worked so hard to build.”
De Grunwald also said the tweets had made her re-examine the industries where the campaign for fair internships has been less effective than others, and where too much unpaid work remains to this day:
“In certain industries – including fashion, politics and media – it has been exceptionally hard to push through change around unpaid internships. We campaigners always assumed it was because we hadn’t spoken to the right people, or managed to make enough noise. But now I wonder if the truth may be darker. Would it be paranoid to consider whether in those industries there are simply more powerful opponents who were – and perhaps still are – actively working against us? It’s a sinister thought, but I think it’s time to consider it.”
Here are the tweets. Decide for yourself if the account rings true?
So… @scarcurtis‘s pop-up stand for her new book was removed from @Topshop London because Philip Green demanded it be. And it took me back to a time, a few years ago, when he stuck his oar into my work too…
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
At the time, I was working with enforcement colleagues on a press release about minimum wage/unpaid intern enforcement at London Fashion Week. The work was positive and necessary. And the coverage was good.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
The British Fashion Council was on board – after all, it was a win for them because it made them look like they cared about treating employees properly. Paying them what they were legally owed.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
And so, after the immediate coverage saying govt would be contacting British labels showing at London Fashion Week, ensuring they paid people what they were owed, enforcement officers worked with the BFC to keep efforts and dialogue going.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
In short there was a concerted effort to ensure workers were paid their legal wage by working with the BFC, which was generally more successful than being at loggerheads with them.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
The work was so successful, I wrote another news release. It was a follow up, so I discussed it with @shivmalik as an exclusive. His NMW coverage had always been fair.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
And the news release had been signed off at my end and sent to the BFC as a courtesy, when my boss got a phone call. A very loud, shouty phone call. From one Philip Green. Sorry – *Sir* Philip Green, as he kept reminding us.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
And he was *not* happy about the follow up news release I planned to publish. So much so that he demanded we not publish it. Said it shouldn’t be published because it made the BFC look like they weren’t playing by the rules.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
The news release detailed how enforcement officials had been trying to work with the BFC to increase awareness of what interns should be paid. And what the outcome had been.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
Phil didn’t like this one little bit. Neither did the BFC. But they didn’t have any clout with the Chancellor. And he did. So once my boss was done being shouted at by the Topshop Spiv, he went and spoke to the head of press. And the Director of Comms.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
They were both unimpressed. And were keen to publish. Until they got a call from the Chancellor’s office, telling us to can the news release. It was going out. Despite the fact that it was newsworthy, despite the fact that it meant underpaid workers might get some money.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
The release was binned, and I was left to make the awkward phone calls telling enforcement workers why their important work wasn’t going to get the coverage it deserved, and that yes, I knew it would probably mean fewer people getting what they were legally entitled to.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
All because an angry man with the Chancellor’s ear had decided he didn’t like what we had done. So I’m not surprised that *Sir* Philip Green demanded that @scarcurtis‘s fab pop up be removed. He’s been pulling this crap for years.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
I mean, I guess this time it’s not quite as outrageous because Topshop is his. He can remove stuff if he wants. Despite it being detrimental to the store’s demographic. Despite it making him look like a rabid control freak.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
I mean, I guess this time it’s not quite as outrageous because Topshop is his. He can remove stuff if he wants. Despite it being detrimental to the store’s demographic. Despite it making him look like a rabid control freak.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
But I really, really wished that the Chancellor had stood up to him back in the day. Because somebody bloody well needs to. It’s the only thing bullies understand.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) October 5, 2018
Also, what year would this have been?
– Graduate Fog (@GraduateFog) November 2, 2018
Follow up work was a couple of months later, and that was what Sir Phil disagreed with.
– Viennese Strudel (@VienneseStrudel) November 2, 2018
@George_Osborne Cast your mind back to 2012… Do you remember this incident? https://t.co/QWjJ0OL8kJ
— Graduate Fog (@GraduateFog) November 6, 2018
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