By Hsu Latt Phyu - Feb 04, 2025
Workers at Safety Clothing Myanmar, a garment factory operating in Mya Sein Yaung Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon Region, told MLN that they are facing severe violations of workplace rights.
The factory, which employs over 1,000 workers, is Chinese national-owned.
The factory manufacture winter clothing and pants for export to Japan, and it is reported that there is no trade union within the workplace.
Workers have reported multiple workplace violations, including promised wages being lower than the actual payment, excessive production targets, termination of daily wage workers after three months, lack of clean drinking water, forced signing of blank commitment letters without an employment contract (EC), denial of leave entitlements, and excessive overtime requirements.
Workers explained their grievances as follows:
“In a production line with 20 workers, the factory demands over 50 pieces per hour. The work is very detailed, and we cannot meet such high targets since we are sewing Japanese-style winter clothes. Additionally, underage daily wage workers are dismissed after three months under false pretenses. Some workers were wrongfully terminated without cause, so they filed complaints with the Labour Office in December. The management was already informed in advance and coached workers on what to say when labour officials inspected the factory. In the end, only the workers who had filed complaints lost their jobs,” said an anonymous worker.
“The Chinese female owner personally shouts at workers who raise concerns, saying, ‘Don’t come to me with complaints! Who do you think you are? I will fire you! I will make your life difficult! You must follow my rules in my factory! Don’t speak up!’ She forces us to continue working beyond official dismissal hours without letting us leave. She even says, ‘Just quit if you’re brave enough, I’m smarter than all of you!’ and humiliates male workers in front of everyone,” another worker reported.
Regarding wages, workers are not given clear information about their pay. Their absence is counted as unexcused if they take leave, and they are forced to sign blank commitment letters while their wages are deducted. As a result, they lose both their bonuses and daily attendance pay, causing financial hardship.
Workers have lodged a complaint with the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) regarding these labour rights violations.
The workers’ demands include:
- Employers should set reasonable production targets that workers can realistically meet.
- Employers should not force workers to continue working after official dismissal times.
- The Chinese national owner should stop yelling and insulting workers.
- Employers should not unlawfully terminate workers without just cause.
- Employers should not falsely accuse workers of misconduct and force them to sign blank commitment letters but should instead provide proper EC contracts.
- Workers should be granted their rightful leave entitlements.
