By Citizen Journalists Nov 22, 2024
Dear Editor Team,
I am writing to you as an employee of Diamond Rental Myanmar Co., Ltd. I would like to add some additional details about issues that were not covered in the news and share some of the difficulties we, the workers, have faced.
Diamond Rental Myanmar Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company, as you may already know. The company employs nearly 100 workers, including Myanmar staff.
It was established in 2016. At that time, workers were not hired based on the EC contract format stipulated by the government. Instead, the company used private agreements and operated under those contracts until 2020.
Due to these private contracts, workers faced significant disadvantages.
From our research, the EC contract format was mandated in August 2013, with a requirement that it be signed within 30 days of employment. Furthermore, in August 2017, the government issued a directive emphasizing that the EC contract format must be used, detailing the specific requirements to be included.
However, despite knowing that the contracts did not comply with the law, labor officers failed to raise any concerns with the factory. It was only in 2021 that the company switched to the EC contract format as required under the government directive.
Additionally, the company was supposed to notify the labor office upon hiring new employees and contribute to social security funds. However, the labor office has never investigated or inquired into any matters related to the company’s employees, raising serious questions.
There are also other violations.
The company deducts a monthly amount of 10,000 to 15,000 kyats from workers’ salaries under the guise of a "social occasion fund." These deductions are handled by the company’s HR department.
While these amounts are deducted every month, only sometimes they appear on the payslip, and other times they do not. Workers have no idea how much has been collected, how the funds are used, or how much remains, as no transparency or announcements have ever been made. The EC contract does not contain any clauses related to such deductions, and we have never agreed to them.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company illegally deducted up to 15% of workers’ salaries, even when the government had issued specific directives regarding workers’ rights. These deductions continued until 2023, even though the COVID-19 situation had already improved by 2022. This clearly demonstrates how workers suffered financial losses during that period.
The company also failed to distribute COVID-19 relief funds provided by the government. To our knowledge, these funds were issued twice, but not once did we receive them.
Despite this, Diamond Rental Myanmar Co., Ltd. has profited greatly over the years.
As a Japanese company, it has been involved in many ODA (Official Development Assistance) projects in Myanmar, such as railway upgrades, bridge construction, port developments, and special economic zones.
Currently, the company is also involved in the construction of the Dala-Yangon Bridge project.
Yet, even now, the company continues to deduct workers’ wages as it has always done.
This is a time when every worker has to carefully manage their income. No worker is willing to have extra amounts deducted without their consent, yet we are forced to comply. In my opinion, a Japanese company that implements ODA projects is violating labor laws here in Myanmar.
If they claim ignorance, this is a grossly irresponsible act. There are other Japanese corporations operating in Myanmar as well. If this company is breaking labor laws, it raises concerns about whether other Japanese-led projects are also failing to protect workers’ rights.As an employee who has experienced such violations, I will be reaching out to the relevant organizations and authorities to seek support and assistance.
This letter is to bring this issue to the attention of the appropriate authorities via Myanmar Labour News.
Sincerely,
An employee
Additional Information:
Diamond Rental Myanmar Co., Ltd. is a company specializing in the rental of machinery and equipment. It operates in Thilawa Road, Thilawa Industrial Zone, Yangon. According to the company’s website, its shareholders include Mitsubishi Corporation and Nikken Corporation. Mitsubishi Corporation is involved in various projects in Myanmar under Japanese government’s ODA program.
