In April 2025, the luxury fashion company Montblanc (part of Richemont) allegedly filed a “defamation and coercion” criminal complaint against union officials from Sudd Cobas in Italy. Sudd Cobas union has supported Pakistani and Afghani workers who joined the union after experiencing alleged abusive working conditions at a Montblanc supplier, Z Production, in Prato (Italy).

Migrant workers describe a range of abusive working conditions including unreasonable working hours and low wages (one worker says he was paid around 3 EUR per hour). Z Production supplied to Richemont, producing Montblanc bags.

In 2022, thirteen Z Production workers joined the Sudd Cobas union and went on strike for better working conditions. Following negotiations, an agreement was signed and workers were no longer required to work beyond the legal maximum. However, following the agreement Richemont’s local subsidiary said it would terminate its contract with the supplier (Richemont told Public Eye assertions that the union agreement caused the contract termination are inaccurate).

Following the contract termination, Sudd Cobas organised new protests in 2023 both outside the factory and outside Montblanc’s Florence boutique. The union alleges the company “suddenly withdrew” from negotiations.

At the end of 2023, Z Production’s contract was terminated. In 2024, the union continued to cooperate with the workers to protest, after all union workers were dismissed.

In January 2025, Montblanc allegedly also instituted proceedings at a local civil court, calling for an immediate ban on demonstrations by Sudd Cobas activists outside its stores.

An article by Public Eye describing the allegations also references a 2024 Al Jazeera report alleging abuse at Pelletteria A&S, which is five kilometres from Z Production (the company denies the allegations). The factory allegedly supplies to Montblanc. The reporting also mentions a 2020 court case against Richemont supplier Pelletteria Serena, alongside abuses impacting workers in Dior supply chain (see more here).

Z Production did not respond to Public Eye’s request for comment.

In September 2025, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited Montblanc to respond to the inclusion of its complaint in the Resource Centre's database of strategic lawsuits against public participation. The company's response can be read in full below.