By Min Ni Kyaw - May 25, 2024

Workers from South Korean national owned Panko Bago Company which located at Bago said that the factory is calling them excessive amount of overtime more than 4 months,” a worker said.

“We have to work Sunday overtime every two week. We only have 2 days off per month. We had to bring a bed sheet to sleep on when we are called night overtime. We have to sleep in rows," the workers said.

The factory call overtime for 2 hours a day normally but also called until 8:30 or 10:30 pm casually and workers have to eat dinner with their own plan. And having to work from 12:30 pm to 6:30 pm continuously as well,” according to the workers.

“Those who are not called for overtime go back home at 4:30 but those who are called don’t even have 15 or 20 minutes to rest, so they are more tired,” workers said. And they face problems whenever they see the petrol teams on the way back home after the midnight overtime.

“The supervisors don’t ask for our consents. It is like do or leave. They signed overtime papers for us. There are many people who fainted or stiffed for having to work that much,” workers said. They are not informed about the overtime in advanced so parents worried as they came back late. And leaves are not granted in the factory so they are labeled as absent when they take a leave and attendance bonus is cut.

“We are tired but no benefits. We lost 30,000 kyats which we can afford for rice. Workers with around 5 family members most become difficult,” said a worker.

The overtime payment is not transparent as they give by names and there are discriminations in the factory. There are supervisors who are selling illegal lotteries and some stuffs from the administration team are participating.

“There is two groups. One who sell and buy illegal lotteries and one who don’t. The factory seems like a casino. The administration team pretended that they don’t know because they too are participating,” the worker said.

It have been 6 months the illegal lotteries are being sold. Another problem is the workers have to run to the dinning room as it is far from the factory.

According to DICA’s data, Panko Bago Company factory located at Nyaung Inn Village, Bago Township and operating with foreign investments. There are around 1,000 workers working in the factory and workplace coordination committee cannot do effective actions.