By Ma Ma - Jan 24, 2025
Chinese national-owned LITA MYANMAR Co., Ltd is reportedly increasing its mistreatment of workers following their workplace demands, according to factory workers who spoke with MLN.
This factory is located in Industrial Zone (4), Shwe Pyi Thar Township, and operates with more than 700 workers.
It does not have a trade union, and workers are facing rights violations. The factory manufacture brands such as BURTLE, coolcore, FORK&SPOON, GLACIER, TSDESIGN, NIPPON STEEL, Samansa Mos2, and Urban Research Doors.
“On December 23, we protested with seven demands. After that, the managers and Chinese supervisors held a grudge against us and started demanding production targets more unfairly. They said things like, ‘You just want to get paid for free but you don’t want to work, don’t you?’ and accused us of being unwilling to work. They insult us daily. On top of that, they force us to do tasks that aren’t part of our responsibilities. They move us from our departments to other areas where we’re not skilled, and we can’t meet their production targets. They insult us if we say we’re struggling,” said one factory worker.
Inside the workplace, the toilets are unsanitary, and there is no lighting on the men’s side. Additionally, the toilet odor reaches the dining area, causing inconvenience for the workers.
Ferry transportation is only provided along the Shwe Paukkan route and to a few locations within Shwe Pyi Thar although excessive overtime work is being required. This forces workers to spend their overtime earnings on transportation expenses.
“We have to work overtime on Sundays two to three times a month. Visitors who come to inspect the factory only focus on ensuring the quality of their products, ignoring the workers’ difficulties. Previously, sick leave or urgent leave was not allowed, and it’s still the same. They deduct 7,800 MMK from daily wage and 12,500 MMK from attendance bonus if we miss a day. The way they treat us in the factory makes us feel like prisoners. They force sanitation workers to pick up trash on the streets or dig soil. In the past, they hired outside workers for such tasks, but now they make the cleaning staff collect trash and level soil outside the factory daily,” another worker explained.
Currently, factory workers have reached out to the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) for assistance in addressing their grievances.
Workers are requesting to receive legal leave entitlements, to have lighting installed and sanitation improved in the restrooms they use, to have ferry transportation arranged for workers without access to current routes, to ensure that cleaning workers are not forced to perform unrelated tasks, to stop managers from pressuring and setting unreasonable production targets for protesting workers, and to eliminate insults and degrading treatment in the workplace.
