By Yoon Sat - Feb 05, 2025
Workers at S.H United Factory, located at Makhaya Min Thar Gyi Maung Pyo Road, Industrial Zone (2), Hlaing Thar Yar Township report that they are suffering from severe verbal abuse and unfair wage deductions by supervisors.
“It’s a piece-rate system, so we only earn based on what we sew, but from early morning, the supervisors constantly insult us. They shout things like, ‘Are you blind? Are you animals?’ When we go to the restroom, they yell, ‘Where are you going, cows?’ They humiliate us to the point where many workers avoid going to the restroom altogether, which is causing health problems. Pregnant women are also insulted in the most degrading ways,” workers said.
The Chinese national-owned factory employs over 1,000 workers and specializes in producing dresses. However, it does not have a trade union.
The factory operates on a piece-rate (ticket) wage system, but workers allege that supervisors manipulate and cut their wages. Only those who have good relations with the supervisors receive the full rate.
“The official rate is 20 MMK per point, but the supervisors only give us 15 MMK, keeping the rest for themselves. They never display the actual rate set by the company, and they cheat workers however they like,” a worker complained.
There are 17 production lines in the factory, with only four lines having 45 workers each. The remaining lines have only 41 workers per line, yet they are forced to produce 150 pieces per hour.
For difficult sewing styles, workers are required to produce 70 to 80 pieces per hour, which they say is an impossible target.
The factory employs a large number of daily wage workers, who are also mistreated. They are paid only 6,500 MMK on Saturdays, 8,000 MMK for working until 7:30 PM on regular weekdays and paid only 9,000 MMK for extended shifts until 8:30 PM.
Additionally, underage workers (aged 14 and 15) are employed without medical clearance and are forced to work under the same conditions as adults, while their wages are unfairly deducted.
Workers were initially promised 5,800 MMK in daily wages, 2,000 MMK as a subsidy; a total of 7,800 MMK per day.
However, they only receive 5,800 MMK without the additional support pay.
“We have to get written permission from supervisors and assistant supervisors before we can go to the clinic when we feel unwell and need paracetamol. We are denied medical treatment if we don’t have permission,” a worker reported.
Workers have sought help from the Industrial Workers’ Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) and are demanding the following:
- Underage workers (aged 14 and 15) should not be treated the same as adult workers, and their wages should not be unfairly deducted.
- Production targets should be set at reasonable levels that workers can achieve.
- Supervisors and assistant supervisors should stop insulting and verbally abusing workers.
- Pregnant workers should not be harassed or verbally abused.
- Workers should receive their full wages and promised subsidies without unfair deductions.
