By Hsu Latt Phyu -Aug 19, 2024

Workers from Tianjon Fashion MileStone Garment factory which locates at Seik Kan Thar Street, Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon region said that they are feeling like prisoners for being searched by touching every part of the body.

Workers said that they are being searched in this way both before and after the working hours.

“I am not sure weather I am a worker or an inmate,” said a female worker.

The Chinese national owned factory is manufacturing VERO MOODA, LC WAIKIKI CLASSIC, LCW VISION brands jackets and coats. It is also known that the factory hires more than 1,500 workers.

It is also known that there is no trade union in the factory. The factory has been abusing the workers’ rights since the military coup and there were no changes although they reported severely.

“Those who dare to complaint are monitored and dismissed,” a worker stated.

The employer doesn’t follow the rules in the Employment Contract but make one-sided rules and pressurize the workers to follow it.

“We are only forced to follow the contracts the employer made on their consent alone even though we have employment contract. The employer had said that those who doesn’t follow their rules will have to sign warnings. Workers neither want to sign nor know the rules. The employer only use them only if they want to punish,” the workers said.

The working hours are 12 hours a day from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and workers only have 30 minutes break for lunch.

Workers also said about the excessive fabric output demands they are asked 

“A production line with 55 workers are asked 50 or 60 coats per hour depending on the fabric. The line manager Daw Mya Mya Htwe verbally abuse us if we can’t finish the one-sided asked outputs. We can’t even go to toilet during the working hours to meet their demands. The supervisors only care about verbally abusing us even though we are working hard,” said a worker who don’t want to be named.

Furthermore, they are also called overtime on Sundays which makes them to work the whole month without a day off.

“We don’t have a day off. We don’t get a gate pass if we feel sick during the working hours but have to continue working,” they said.

The workers said that they want to request certain facts for resolvents regarding the violations –

1.  To ask only the possible fabric outputs

2. The supervisors to not verbally abuse the workers

3. To not dismiss the workers with malice

4. To not take actions upon the workers with one-sided rules

5. To not delay the transportation buses after the working hour

6. To not allow the security stuffs to search the workers by touching every part of the body.