By Min Ni Kyaw - Nov 26, 2024
#LETTER
We are workers from a factory in Bago Region, and we are writing to ask for help regarding the situation we face at Smooth World Garment Factory (Smooth World International (Myanmar) Limited). The factory is located on Taung Thone Lone Road, Thar Yar Kone, In Ta Kaw Township, Bago Region, and is owned by a Chinese national. Around 300 workers are employed and the products manufactured are innerwear and swim shorts.
In our factory, we are forced to work overtime without pay. Overtime pay is only given until 8:30 PM, but for any work done after that, the factory claims it is to fix production issues and does not pay us. On holidays, workers in departments that are behind on production are required to work without receiving overtime pay.
The factory is divided into two sub factories: A and B. Each factory has one all super. One leader is assigned per line, and one super oversees four lines. In Section A, there are nine production lines, and in Section B, there are seven production lines.
The factory is a small two-story building. The ground floor is used as a cutting department and warehouse, while the production lines are located on the upper floor.
The manager and all supers are extremely abusive, constantly yelling and scolding workers. Even the supervisors themselves are verbally abusive.
The female manager is the worst. She uses vulgar language, insulting workers by comparing them to body parts and saying degrading things repeatedly.
The factory has a WCC (Workplace Coordination Committee), but the worker representative is also a line leader. Workers are unable to report anything to him because he was appointed by the factory and does not act on behalf of the workers. He is also known to scold workers harshly.
The supervisors and manager are deducting wages from daily workers.
Although the factory is supposed to pay 6,800 MMK per day, they only give workers 5,800 MMK.
When complaints are made, they hold meetings and scold the workers. If workers do not meet production targets, they are scolded. If there are defective garments, they are scolded again.
Most of the workers are day laborers, and turnover is very high. Since the workers are often inexperienced, defective garments occur frequently. Day laborers come and go, and there is no stability.
The supervisors and manager inflate the number of workers in their records. This causes the Chinese owners to demand higher production targets, believing there are enough workers.
We are forced to work until the production is completed saying orders are urgent.
We would be willing to cooperate and help if spoken to respectfully. However, the verbal abuse we endure has gone too far.
Please help us, as we are dealing with this every day.
