By Hsu Latt Phyu - Feb 14, 2024
The workers from HOPE ONE garment factory which locates near Maung Kyan Thee Street, near A lal ywar fire department circle, Hlaing Thar Yar Township have said that they are physically abused, asked for excessive fabric outputs and they requested to stop doing those things.
The factory is a Japanese national owned factory which is importing Japanese brand sweaters such as Ladies Fashion, noa-ge brands and there is no trade union in the factory.
The workers said that despite having to pay 2,500 kyats in social security contributions every month as occupational violations, they were not entitled to medical leave and their daily allowances were cut.
Grade bonus are set as A(50,000) kyats, B(30,000) kyats and D(10,000) kyats but only those who tolerate everything with the supers and all supers get A and B grades but the workers who are really proficient don’t get it. It is a discrimination between the workers. The workers are not entitled to legal casual and medical leaves. Daily wages 5,800 kyats, attendance bonus 10,000 kyats and grade bonuses are also cut for taking legal leaves.
There are more than 30 day laborers in the work place who are hired with 5,000 kyats for 10 working hours. There are also not employed permanently but rather hired and recall according to the number of tasks although they have more than 3 months of service.
“The workers from a factory with more than 1,000 workers have to line up for going back home and the manager physically assaulting the workers who don’t line up (slapping the girls and knocking the head to boys). We can’t accept physically abuse in no way. We want them to stop,” said the workers.
Excessive fabric output amount such as from 150 to 200 fabric pieces per hour are asked by the employer by intimidating with cutting the salary. The fabric output demands are not considered for the absent workers.
“The supers call us meeting and verbally abuses badly and told that we have to work free overtime for not getting the fabric outputs. They also threated us with the military service law,” said the workers.
“The line 6 and line 7 supers are the rudest. They verbally abuse the workers with the worst possible way in public,” said the workers.
The workers who swed quality failed fabrics are morally downgraded and those who complaint are dismissed.
“The workers are not allowed to use phones in the workplace but the all supers and supers can. The workers are cut 500 kyats if they don’t satisfy with the worker’s rotational janitorial works. The manager noted the uncleaned cavity and cut 1,000 kyats on issuing the salary. The workers are not only having to work for their cavity but for the whole factory and cutting the wages for not satisfying with the janitorial work is an explosion and we want them to stop it,” said the workers.
The factory was reported for the first time on January 29 for violations of labor rights at the factory, and the factory denied the violations and responded via e-mail to take down the news and apologize, but the workers said again that violations continue to be committed in the workplace.
The workers’ requests are the employer to allow the workers legal causal and medical leaves, the manager not to physically assault the workers, not to cut without the workers’ agreement, the supers and all supers not to morally downgrade the workers and the male all supers not to verbally abuse and harass the female workers and the employer not to force free overtime after asking for excessive fabric outputs.
