By Hsu Latt Phyu - Aug 21, 2024

S.H.UNITED COMPANY LIMITED garment factory which located near the Bogyoke Road, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon Region said that the factory is violating the rights of freedom of association.

The factory is a Chinese national owned factory and manufacturing COLIN’s brand jackets with more than 1,200 workers.

The working hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and there are workers are not entitled to legal benefits.

“We are cut 5,800 kyats daily wage, 1,000 kyats subsidy and 40,000 kyats attendance bonus and the expert bonus with ratio if we miss a day of work. We are neither allow to take emergency casual leave nor social security leave,” a worker explained.

Workers said that they are losing due to having difficulties to take medical leaves because of the pressures from the supervisors and the managers although they contributed for social security every month.

The factory ask for excessive fabric output such as 40 jackets per hour for a production line with 50 people and workers are verbally abused if they can’t finish the demands.

 “Fabric output demands are one-sidedly asked by the employer and we don’t even take a break due to its excessive amount. But we are verbally abuse in front of the boys if we can’t give what they asked for,” said the worker.

The factory hires many day laborers and they are dismissed as soon as the orders are low. The factory operated as South Bay garment factory before and opened with a new one after a permanent close down. The factory reject the application of the trade union members of the old factory by checking with a name list.

There was a trade union in the previous factory but the current one doesn’t have. They don’t accept the job application of the workers from the previous factory. They humiliated them in public and evict them. Such action is violating the rights of freedom of association,” a worker stated.

Workers 5 requests regarding the resolvants of the workplace violations are 

1. The employer to stop the actions violating the 2011 Freedom of Association Law

2. To not allow the supervisors to verbally abuse the workers especially in front of male workers

3. To not dismiss the day laborers due to low orders

4. To allow the workers to take medical and casual leaves

5. The manager not pressure and complaint the workers who take medical leave