By Hsu Latt Phyu - Mar 11, 2024
The workers from WHN garment factory which locates at Sayar San Street, Industrial Zone 2, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon region said that they don’t have employment contract with the factory and their rights are being violated.
The factory which is owned by a Chinese national is operating with around 500 workers and there is no trade unions and workplace coordination committee in the factory. The factory is manufacturing ET VOUS, PROMOD. CALLOPE and PUNT brand jackets and pants.
The working hours are set as from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. with an addition of 2 hours of overtime but in reality, the workers have to work overtime from 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. which cause them difficulties.
“The night overtimes are optional and workers consents are not asked. They don’t call the whole factory but they select those they want. We don’t want to work due to the political situations but we have no right to say no. They provide the overtime workers a bus but the workers only return to home at 10:00 p.m. We have to sleep in the factory on the days we work until 12 and go back home at 4:00 and came back in the morning after having a bath,” said the workers.
The workers also that these overtimes are called illegally as they have to hide in the garage when the inspectors came in.
“We have to work overtime for free until 9:00 if we have many fabrics to kept and fix. On Sundays, we don’t get paid for overtime wages even if we finished fixing the fabrics,” the workers said.
The workers said that they are having concerns due to having to work until midnight and they also explained how they suffer and how their health are affected for having to work until midnight.
The factory asks for fabric outputs which is beyond their productivity and the all supers and supers verbally abuse them if they can’t finish which makes them working in a place where they are morally downgraded.
They are not entitled to medical leaves and legal benefits although they have been contribute for the social security and daily wages, attendance bonus and expert fees are cut for a single day of absent.
“We don’t get any legal benefits and medical leaves. There are around 500 workers but there is neither nurse nor medic clinic. The toilets are also dirty and damaged. The dinning room have no roofs and the dinning chairs are not also proficient,” said the worker.
The workers requests are to:
1.Survey their desire before calling overtime.
(a). To call overtime only until 6:30 p.m.
(b). To give overtime fees
2. To give access to legal benefits
3. To provide medic clinic, reception and doctor or nurse.
(a) To kept the toilets clean and sufficient
(b) To provide roof for the dinning room and to provide sufficient dining chairs
4. To provide transportation with routes
5. To give overtime fees with backdate for Sundays and those which they were forced to work until 9:00 p.m. and not get paid.
6. To ask only the possible fabric outputs.
7. The supers and all supers to not verbally abuse and to take actions on those who did.
