By Hsu Latt Phyu - Jan 28, 2025
Workers at Wonderful Apparel Co., Ltd, a Chinese national owned factory, reported to Myanmar Labour News that day labourers are facing wage cuts and other labour rights violations while full-time employees are subjected to forced labour.
The factory is located in the Myaung Dakar Industrial Zone, Han Steel Power Road, Hmawbi Township, and operates with a workforce of over 200 employees.
Without any trade union representation, the factory continues to violate labour rights while manufacturing brands such as MARK and T.BUC.
“There are day labourers in the factory. They are not given full-time employment even after working for three to four months. They are forced to work overtime without receiving overtime pay, earning only 6,800 kyats on Saturdays. Meanwhile, full-time workers are forced to meet unrealistic production targets. For instance, they demand 90-100 if a production line typically completes 80-85 garments. Similarly, for styles that usually yield 35-40 pieces, they push for 50. Some workers can’t meet these targets, so they have to keep sewing without drinking water or using the restroom. Workers are sent to other departments if their native department has fewer tasks, even if they are not trained for the job. The supervisors verbally abuse if we fail to meet the production target, Additionally, some workers are forced to unload logs from trucks and carry fuel drums, which are not part of their job responsibilities," a factory worker said.
Inside the factory, drinking water is unclean, toilets lack sufficient water containers, and many restroom doors are broken.
Moreover, workers find it difficult to obtain permission to leave work due to illness.
“We have to go through a lot of trouble just to get approval if we feel unwell and request a gate pass to leave. They don’t grant permission easily even if we are clearly sick. The HR manager is often absent from the office and spends most of their time in the clinic. The clinic’s nurse is also assigned HR duties instead of focusing on medical care. We have to search extensively for the nurse if we need medical attention. Even though workers frequently raise these issues online, no improvements have been made," another worker said.
Currently, factory workers have reported these rights violations to the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM), seeking assistance to address the situation.
Workers are demanding that day labourers be paid overtime wages when working on Saturdays, supervisors refrain from using abusive language when setting production targets, workers who have completed three months of service be granted full-time employment, the clinic’s nurse be allowed to focus on medical duties, and gate passes for sick workers be granted without unnecessary delays.
