By Min Ni Kyaw - Dec 14, 2023
According to the workers, the YOYIKA GARMENT factory, which is manufacturing the Sinsay brand, violates the minimum wage law and recruits so called helpers as day laborers and only pays them 3,600 kyats a day.
"When they were hired, it was told 3,600 kyats per day and 900 kyats for OT. The workers are paid less but they come to work with the hope that they will become permanent after 3 months. But after about a month, they are not called anymore on the grounds of lack of task "said a factory worker.
The worker said that around 700 workers in the factory are working as permanent workers, and around 100 are day laborers. The day laborers on the sewing line have stable employment, but the day laborers in other departments only have to work for a month at most.
"It can be said that cavities department have stable employment. But there is no such thing to become permanent employee surely after completing 3 months of service. Those who are comfortable with the supers become permanent a month and some don’t even after 5 months. Other departments only have to work for a month at most,” said a factory worker.
Day laborers from other departments in YOYIKA GARMENT factory works all light and all night overtime the same with other permanent workers but get paid 900 kyats as overtime pay.
“Both working hours and overtimes are the same. But the day laborers only gets paid 3,600 kyats for daily wages and 900 kyats for OT. The wages for the same workers are being different. As a day laborer, it's a big loss as the job is not a stable one," said one of the day laborers.
Taking leaves are not allowed in the factory and also workers consent is not asked for overtime. There are cases of being robbed as the workers got back late from overtime, said by the workers.
"There are all night and all light overtimes until three months ago. There was no rest day. Until now, those overtime still exists in other departments. We have to work overtime until 8pm every day, which is late and insecure. There are also those who have been robbed. There is no such thing as a safe return home. They give leaves unfairly among the workers too,” A factory worker said.
The YOYIKA GARMENT factory calls 4 hours overtime every day from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. In addition to that, they also call overtime until 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays, the workers said that they are working overtime more than 20 hours per week.
The workers also said that there are 11 machine lines in the factory, and some supers of those machine lines swear them. “They swear rudely. We are not happy to work as they didn’t treat us properly but instead swears. We can’t also work with fresh full mind as we got home late," said the factory workers.
Day laborers want job stability and equal pay, while wage workers want non-discrimination and asking of their consent to work overtime.
YOYIKA GARMENT Co.LTD garment factory is a Chinese-owned factory, and known that there is no WCC group in the workplace. The factory is located in Mukyo Kyaung intersection, Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon City.
