By Hus Latt Phyu - Apr 19, 2024
The workers from HOPE ONE CO,LTD garment factory which locates at Maung Kyan Thee Street, A Lal Ywar Fire station roundabout, Haling Thar Yar Township said that the manager is physically assaulting them on the grounds that they don’t assemble neatly after the work. The Japanese national owned factory which is manufacturing Ladies Fashion brand laces and NOA-GE brand shirts is operating with more than 1,000 workers and trade unions are not formed.
“The factory states that if a worker is late to join work one day after the Thingyan holiday, salary will be deducted for 10 days. And the supervisors said that there are no provisions for emergency or medical leave in the factory, they even told us that we can take leave if we dare to lose our benefits,” said the worker who don’t wanted to be named.
Despite workers being required to pay a social security fee of 2500 MMK per month, there is no provision for medical leave, and the factory deducts from the salary if a worker is absent due to a health condition, such as a day fee of 5,800 kyats, a regular attendance bonus of 10,000 kyats, and the expert fees, respectively.
“There are no medicines available in the emergency medical room, and we are reprimanded if we ask for medicine,” the workers said. They continue to say that they are forced to work overtime all day and night, including Sundays.
The factory demands more output from the workers than they can produce and verbally abuse them if they cannot finish.
“There are only 25 people in a machine line, and a mechine seamstress must sew for two to three points. We are demanded to produce 300 items per hour. The supervisors and all superiors shout using harsh words and also discriminate if we cannot meet the required output within 10 hours,” workers explained about how they are feeling insecure and humiliated in the workplace especially when the male all supers verbally abusing the female workers.
“Male all supers from line 7 and 10 verbally abused us by saying very rude words. They even tell us that their salary would remain the same even if we resign and our positions are different,” said a worker who don’t want to be named. Workers have no right to report about the excessive fabric demands and overtime due to afraid of losing their jobs.
Every day, the workers have to alternate in cleaning the machine line. 500 MMK is deducted if the machine is not cleaned properly. The manager waits and watches at the exit of the factory, tells them to exist one by one and workers are beaten if they don’t assemble well when leaving the factory.
The workers appeals are to give emergency and medical leave, to eliminate the physical abuse of by managers, to not cut fees without the consent of the workers, the supervisors not to verbally abuse the workers, and male supervisors to not use inappropriate language towards female workers, to ask the workers’ consent for overtime and to only demand the output that the workers can sew.
