By Hsu Latt Phyu - Jan 09, 2024
The workers said that the Myanmar SINYOUNG FASHION garment factory, which locates next to Yangon-Pathein Road in Htan Tapin Township, Yangon Region, is violating the labor rights including forcing to work overtime and not paying full overtime wages.
Although the company operates with around 500 workers to manufacture international brand Sinsey shirts and pants, day laborers and youth workers are hired for short terms and not being paid full wages, the workers said.
"They announced that they are hiring day laborers saying that they would pay 5,800 kyats. In fact, they paid only 4,800 kyats. There were young people among those day laborers who were not yet of age. They are only hired for a short term while there was an order, and fired before 3 months," said a worker.
In addition to the fact that the day workers are hired just temporarily without an being appointing as permanent, the workers also say that the permanent workers too are often illegally fired and are being directly managed by the Chinese nationals.
It is known that the factory is owned by a Chinese national and there is no labor union formed in the workplace.
In the workplace, workers are asking for a target that is much higher than what they can sew. The employer sets a one-sided target of 60 garments per hour for a machine line. The workers are facing the slanders used by the supers and all supers daily for not meeting the targets.
The working hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and workers are forced to work overtime until 12:00 p.m. or all night without prior notice. They have to work over 80 to 100 hours of overtime per month without the right to refuse, but overtime wages are cut instead of paying fully, the worker said.
The workers said that if they went to tell them about the cut of the salary, they were pressured and held grudges against.
"They don't tell the workers about the overtime in advance. Sometimes we have to work all night. We can’t even go back home but slept at the factory and continue working the next day. A worker once wrapped his body in a piece of linen that is no longer used after the bath, the manager fires him by accusing that he stole the linen. His picture is also posted in a public place," said a worker.
The workers said that they want to appeal to resolve the injustice accusation and dismissal of the fired worker, not to fire them without any mistakes, to pay 5,800 kyats to the workers who are hired by saying that the daily wages is 5,800 kyats, to appoint the workers who have more than 3 months of service as the permanent workers and to issue the overtime wages fairly.
