By Min Ni Kyaw - Sep 12, 2024
Workers from Lian Fa (Myanmar) garment factory said that they are not given the daily subsidy 1,000 kyats which is instructed by the minister to pay in the salary starting from August 1, 2024.
“We get paid with 5,800 kyats per day on September pay day. It should be 6,800 kyats per day according to the directive to pay the new subsidy by the ministry. The factory doesn’t give for the day off as well,” said a factory worker.
The former subsidy is also not given for Sundays so workers get only 26,000 kyats for the whole month in the former subsidy.
“They don’t give on Sundays since the former subsidy. But it is worse for now. They don’t pay for the whole August,” said a worker.
Workers said that 30,000 kyats subsidy can help them buy 6 pyi of rice which is enough for them for a week. A labour activist said that not following the instructions of the ministry is violating the laws.
“Both the former (2023) and new subsidy must cover for Sundays and day offs. But this factory doesn’t. The township labour departments should investigate this. Some workers get paid only after many months. The employers are not following the laws and instructions,” they said.
Workers said that the working hours are from 4:00 am to 8:00 pm and they work continuously since after the lunch break. There is no nurse, medicines and health care provisions in the factory so they have to buy the necessaries with their own savings.
“Some workers in factory trade the medicines. The factory doesn’t even have a methyl alcohol. We have to buy ourselves. We don’t get a rest between 12:00 pm and 8:00 pm and we have to work until 6:30 pm on Saturdays. We have to work until mid-night on today (September 11),” workers said.
It is also learnt that the factory cut for both Saturday and Sunday if the workers take leave on Saturday. A labour activist said as following regarding the contents of overtime recruitment and violations.
“The law says that workers must be given for Sunday if they work 44 hours a day. We have to check if the workers absent on Saturday or informed to take leave. If they inform to take leave on Saturday and got cut for Sunday it is violation of the law,” they said.
The Lian Fa (Myanmar) Company owned garment factory located at Min Ayar Street, Shwe Than Lwin Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar (Eastern) Township and hires around 300 workers. The workplace coordination committee is formed but doesn’t appoint the workers’ representatives and there is no trade union. The factory is operating on foreign investments according to DICA’s informations.
