By Yoon Satt - Jan 29, 2024
It is known that the Japanese national own Hope One garment factory which locates near Mee That Circle, Alal village, Hlaing Thar Yar is violating the labor rights such as not giving the legal leaves, cutting 5,800 kyats daily wage and 10,000 kyats attendance bonus; total 15,800 kyats for taking a leave, not giving the medical leaves under the social security although the workers pay for it 2,000 kyats monthly.
The Hope One garment factory is operating with more than 1,000 workers and manufacturing Ladies Fashion brands drawstring shirts.
According to the workers, the supers always told them “Don’t inform leave to us. The superiors won’t permit. We are also not entitled to it. The targets won’t be meet if you take leave,” when ever they ask for a leave.
The all supers and supers care only about the employer’s favor and the targets instead the health of the workers thus demanding impossible targets, forcing a worker to handle two machine, 250-300 fabric per hour for each cavity with 25 workers, the male supers and all supers verbally abuse for not reaching the targets which makes the female workers feel more humiliated and embarrassed due to the fact of male and female workers working together in the cavity.
Furthermore, the workers are fined 1,000 kyats if some fabric have quality drops as they have to work excessively while being demanded much targets.
And the salary issuing system is not transparent weather it is daily wages or ticket wages. The workers are given professional fee according to their grade levels, 50,000 kyats for A, 30,000 for B, 20,000 for C and 10,000 for D. The workers thought that they would get at least some professional fee according to their professional level but the employer use ticket wages which included in the issued salary instead of the professional fee and the workers are having difficulties due to that manipulation.
The workers are also forced to work the overtimes as mandatorily, assigned the whole night overtime without getting informed in advance, and some workers who complaint in the meetings that they can’t work the whole night overtime are also told to give all the targets in the early morning as soon as they arrive the work if they can’t work overtime.
Although the employer provides the workers 2,000 kyats transportation stipend according to their distance to the factory, the supers only give that stipend to only the workers who are comfortable with them but cut and take from those who aren’t.
Additionally, the workers have to do janitorial works in not only in their cavities but also all across the whole factory as the factory fine them 500 kyats after inspecting the sanitation of the factory and noted it is not clean. Private properties of the workers such as phones are also not allowed to keep with themselves but instead in the lockers of the dinning room, which are very old and loose as many people use those and the all supers and supers scold them and the HR forfeiture their phone if they keep nearby. There are workers who don’t never get back their phones from the HR and the workers who are suffering as they don’t dare to ask the HR to give it back.
The workers want to request not to forfeiture their phones as it is not easy for them to buy another. And there are more violations such as assigned the unskilled instructors in a factory with more than 1,000 workers and not providing sufficient medical supplies that is essential to be in the factory.
It is acknowledged that the workers advocating for 7 points-
1. To allow them causal and social security leaves.
2. Not to forfeiture their phones.
3. To sign employer-employee agreement letter and not to impose unnecessary rules in the workplace.
4. Not to cut 500 kyats from the workers citing the factory's cleanliness as a reason, as the workers are not janitors.
5. The male all supers and supers not to verbally abuse, yell at and swear at the female workers.
6. Not to deduct 1,000 kyats for qc dropped fabrics.
7. To issue the salary transparently.
