By Ma Ma - Dec 22, 2024
At the Chinese-owned Eternal Fashion Co. Ltd., workers are forced to work unpaid overtime, including overnight shifts, if the production targets—set unilaterally by the employer—are not met, according to factory workers.
This factory, located in the Mya Sein Yaung Industrial Zone in Hlaing Thar Yar Township, employs over 2,000 workers. However, the workplace does not have a formal trade union, workers noted.
"They set unachievable production targets for us. For example, a line of over 40 workers is expected to manufacture more than 30 finished garments per hour. We can’t meet those targets no matter how hard we work. The supervisors yelled at us, and we are forced to work unpaid overtime during overnight shifts to meet the production targets if the targets aren’t met during working hours. The unpaid shifts happen frequently, both day and night. We don’t even get the legally mandated leave. We lose our daily pay of 7,500 kyats, which includes the base pay and subsidy, as well as the attendance bonus of 45,000 kyats if we miss just one day " said one worker.
Within the factory, over 90 minors aged 14, 15, and 16 are working under conditions identical to adult workers, without requiring medical certifications. Additionally, workers face unsanitary toilet facilities, unclean drinking water, and inadequate transportation services, which worsen the working environment.
"Last November, workers were forced to work overnight shifts and on Sundays during a crucial period to complete production orders. Despite these efforts, the employer claimed there were no further orders and pressured more than 400 sewing workers to accept temporary unpaid layoffs under the guise of mutual agreement after completing difficult-to-sew orders. Some workers quit because of this," shared another worker.
Currently, factory workers are seeking assistance from the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) to address the labor rights violations and improve their working conditions.
The workers are advocating for adequate ferry transportation, access to clean drinking water, the enforcement of legal leave entitlements, to refrain from setting unrealistic production targets, stop forcing unpaid overtime, respect workers' consent for overtime work and the supervisors to refrain from yelling at workers during production target discussions.
