Myo Thein
Workers told the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) that at a garment factory owned by Jin Kai Hai Co., Ltd., located near Angel KTV on Bogyoke Road in Hlaingtharyar Township, Yangon Region, foreign nationals are verbally abusing workers while forcing them to work.
“They demand production targets unfairly. For a production line with more than 20 workers, they demand 100 pieces per hour. Each worker on the line has to sew from two points up to three points. If the target cannot be met, the Chinese managers at the factory personally curse and scold the workers,” workers said.
Workers also reported that the factory was closed for several days due to a lack of materials during the Thadingyut holiday, but full wages were not paid.
“They said there was no fabric and closed the factory for a total of 15 days during Thadingyut. For three of those days, they paid a daily wage of 5,000 kyats, and for the remaining closed days, they paid 7,000 kyats per day. They promised to pay an attendance bonus of 50,000 kyats, but they never paid it,” workers said.
According to workers, the employer does not grant legally entitled leave such as casual leave or medical leave. More than 35,000 kyats is deducted when a worker is absent for a day. Workers also said that workplace health conditions are poor, including inadequate drinking water and unsanitary toilets.
“There is no regular drinking water at work. It is frequently cut off, and there are days when we cannot drink water at all. As for the toilets, most of the time there is no water,” workers said.
Workers said that more than 100 workers are employed at the Jin Kai Hai Co., Ltd. factory, and that it is owned by Chinese citizens.
