A woman worker who was transferred herself said that Erdos Myanmar Garment Factory transferred 6 workers who asked for a salary increase of 5,600 MMK.
"The factory called me to go back to work, so I went down. When we got to work in the factory, one of the five of us was moved to the position of a helper on the machine line. The rest were transferred to other departments. It's the super who said to move This is done with a grudge of asking for a wage increase,” said Ma Cho Cho (Pseudonym) who was transferred.
The 6 female labours appeal to the manager and the all super on the pay day but they were treated rudely by the manager, said by Ma Cho Cho.
“There was 7 of us when we went to complain about getting only 4,800 MMK and only 6 left when that lady scolded us. She scolded the super too and humiliated us by accusing of having a romantic relationship with the Chinese factory owner. She said we were cut because of letting sands in in the fabric,” she said.
These women said that the factory calculated their salary at 4,800 MMK on September 5th, so they filed a complaint with the Hlaing Thar Yar Labor Office to receive 5,600 MMK.
The labor office made an appointment at 1:00 p.m. on September 7 to resolve the issue, but the factory told that the 6 women labours will be refunded 5,600 kyats, and the factory's HR manager called to return to work.
On the day they returned to work, all 6 women were transferred to their workplaces, and one of them was a line super, so she was transferred to a department clerk.
"We went back to work on the morning of the appointment. When we entered the workplace, we were forced to change positions and jobs where we are not expects. We were appointed as skilled QC labours before. How they accuse us of seeing sands in the fabric while our department always double check before packing,” said Ma Cho Cho.
She said that all of them who were transferred were employed at a professional level and received a fixed wage.According to the business sense, the final stage of QC inspection is to be carried out, but the fabrics that have been inspected are checked again by a Chinese woman appointed by the factory as QA.
"There was no fault on our part. But we have to check the clothes sent by the other factories too. We worked those stuffs even all night and Sunday. The manager and all super told us to shave the fabrics from other factories and kept it. But if there is a problem occur, they forget what they said and only blame on our team,” said Ma Cho Cho.
The Erdos Myanmar factory is a factory that has been forced to work overtime until 12 midnight every day for several months, and despite complaints, the Ministry of Labor has not inspected the factory at all.
The transfer of departments within the factory must be in accordance with the EC contract, and the department cannot be moved without the consent of the labours, said Ma Aye, a labour supporter.
"When transferring a department within the factory, the employer and the employee must negotiate. The employer can't move without the employees’ desires," said Ma Aye.
Last July, factory workers unanimously said that the Erdos Myanmar factory never signed the employment contract EC. The women labours who were transferred said that since they were appointed as skilled workers, the transfer to other locals was done on purpose, and there were psychological and physical damages.
"Right now, our department's Final QC is stacking fabrics. Labours have been called again. They are going to hire new people while we were reassigned. This was done on purpose to humiliate us and make us quit. We are embarrassed for this,” Ma Cho said.
The Erdos Myanmar factory is registered with the Myanmar Investment Commission under the name of Erdos (Myanmar) Knitwear Company Limited and is known to have been established with foreign investment.
Myanmar Labor News has learned that the factory is located on Yaw Secretary U Pho Hlaing Road, Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon, and is sewing SNI brand woolen fabrics.
