By Ma Ma - Feb 02, 2025
Chinese national-owned SunMe (Myanmar) INDUSTRIAL LIMITED factory workers told MLN that their production bonuses were being cut by leaders, supervisors, and assistant supervisors.
This factory is located on Min Gyi Maha Min Khaung Road, Industrial Zone (3), Hlaing Thar Yar Township, and operates with a workforce of over 500 employees.
It is reported that there is no trade union within the workplace. The factory manufacture brands like TopTex and NEXT.
“We sew surplus shirts and send them to Japan. There are also labor rights violations in the factory. Workers are given unrealistic production targets. There are only about 35 people on a production line, and they are required to sew 35 pieces per hour. If they reach this target, the requirement is increased to 40 pieces. We are forced to work without eating or drinking if we complain. Because of this, the factory gives a production bonus of 100,000 MMK per line. The weekly bonus is 600,000 MMK when the daily production is met. However, even though there are only 35 workers in a line, each person receives only 9,000 to 10,000 MMK. The leaders, supervisors, and assistant supervisors take the remaining money. The workers are struggling to meet their production targets, but these people are taking a bigger share of the money. Even though the employer knows this is happening, they do nothing to resolve the issue. Since they can cut the bonuses and keep the money, they pressure the workers to meet the target. When workers fail to meet targets, they are verbally abused and insulted,” a factory worker said.
The factory does not grant legally mandated leave. Workers are denied leave even when they submit doctor-certified leave requests under social security.
Due to this lack of leave, workers do not receive compensation, and if they take sick leave with an official document for more than three days, they are unlawfully dismissed.
“We have never heard of emergency leave being granted. We do not receive the leave benefits even though we pay monthly contributions for social security. If we complain, they say they will pay a total of 7,800 MMK (including compensation and allowance) and a regular 50,000 MMK monthly. However, since we are denied leave, the entire salary is deducted, causing financial losses for the workers if we take a day off. There is nothing available except indigenous medicine when we feel sick while working and go to the factory clinic. There are no essential medicines. The toilets are also dirty and have a bad smell,” another worker reported.
Due to a labor shortage, the factory employs underage workers aged 14, 15, and 16 without proper medical certifications. Day laborers are dismissed when orders decrease.
Currently, workers are being asked to work overtime until 8 PM or 9 PM and are also required to work on Sundays without rest days.
Workers have reached out to the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) for assistance in addressing these labor rights violations.
The factory workers demand that production targets be reasonable, that they receive the legally entitled leave, that unlawful dismissals stop, that young workers not be treated the same as adults, that doctor-certified social security leave be honored, that excessive overtime work be stopped, that Sunday rest days be granted, and that the production bonuses they rightfully earned be fairly distributed.
