By Ma Ma - Sep 30, 2024
Workers from ETERNAL FASHION CO.LTD garment factory said that the factory calls them until 12:00 am and all-night overtime on some days with heavy workloads which cause accidental deaths as a consequence.
The factory is owned by a Chinese national and located at Hlaing Thar Yar Township. Around 10,000 workers are hired and Japanese ordered brands such as balabala, SEMIR, CN: L, EUR:M,US:M, EST.1990, MADE INCHINA and mini are manufactured here.
“The factory is three floors. There is a total of 10,000 workers working here although working hours varies. The main problem is calling overtime until 12:00 am and sometimes until dawn. We don’t get day offs on Sundays. We have to sleep with our own plans inside the factory. A ferry pick up us at 5:00 am to go back to house and come back on time for the next day. Those who don’t work overtime are treated poorly. We also have to work until 12:00 am from September 26 to October 15 as the Japanese order deadline is on October 15,” a worker explained.
“Workers are suffering hallucinations, workplace injuries and being weak due to excessive overtime. Some workers died from felling from the car,” said a factory worker.
There is no trade union in the factory but only a workplace coordination committee the employer appoint on their consents.
The activists from job applicants are pressurized to resign.
“The supervisors verbally abuse us to get the fabric outputs. There is dispensary and nurse but no medicine in our factory. There is water purifier but the drinking water is rusted and not purified. It also have mud odors. We are tired and suffering from excessive heat. Unpurified water is a concern for health. We need to inform a day in advanced for casual leave. We can’t take leave by phone. Medical leave is permitted but it is not easy,” a worker explained.
Workers are seeking for the factory to call overtime only after surveying them, to provide large drinking water bottle, to allow legal leaves, to eliminate pressurizing the labour activists, to take actions on verbal abuses and to hires a doctor and provide medicine in the factory.
