Hsu Latt Phyu
#Letter
We respectfully submit this complaint to the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) and request assistance.
Dishang Fashion (Myanmar) Co., Ltd. garment factory is located at Min Gyi Maha Min Khaung Road, Shwe Than Lwin Industrial Zone, Hlaingtharyar Township. The factory is owned by Chinese citizens. It produces pants and shirts for the brands ONLY, Pimkie, First Down, Java, a.v.v, niko and…, and Field Gear Club.
We would like to present the situation as follows.
Dishang Fashion (Myanmar) Co., Ltd. is a factory operating with more than 900 workers. The main issues we are reporting are discrimination in the setting of production targets, verbal abuse, shouting, intimidation, and the use of bullying tactics in the workplace.
If we fail to meet the production targets set by the factory, OS staff and supervisors shout at and verbally abuse us.
When we speak up and say that the production targets are unfair and cannot realistically be met, OS staff and supervisors apply even more pressure, follow workers closely, and verbally abuse them. Workers who are favored by supervisors are allowed to do as they please and are not criticized.
OS staff and supervisors secretly time workers sewing without their knowledge. Based on their own calculations, they then demand how many pieces must be produced per day and per hour.
From the workers’ perspective, there are days when we are unwell and days when we are exhausted. Production targets are calculated arbitrarily by management, and we cannot meet the numbers they demand. When targets are not met, OS staff and supervisors shout at us line by line and department by department, call meetings, and speak in ways that are unbearable. If workers respond by saying, “Please don’t speak to us like this, we are doing our best,” they are told, “Who do you think you are to talk back? We can deal with you however we want. If it’s not settled inside the factory, it can be settled outside. We can take action against you under your employment contract. Don’t talk back to me,” using intimidation and abuse of authority.
When production targets are not met, pressure and threats are used in every possible way. However, even though departments are understaffed, no additional workers are hired. Some supervisors request more workers due to shortages, but the factory does not recruit. Instead, existing workers are pulled away from their current lines and departments and reassigned to “urgent” lines or departments.
When workers help other lines or departments and fail to meet the assigned targets there, they are again verbally abused. The factory still does not hire additional workers. Supervisors and OS staff continue to pressure and forcibly demand results from workers alone.
The pressure includes statements such as telling workers not to take snack breaks or lunch breaks until targets are met, along with shouting and verbal abuse.
Because of this pressure, some workers skip lunch and snack breaks entirely and continue working.
We, as workers, face verbal abuse and threats on a daily basis. There is no dignity left for workers in the workplace. We strongly request effective action to be taken against OS staff, supervisors, and responsible persons who engage in shouting, bullying, intimidation, and gangster-like behavior.
Sometimes workers have personal matters and cannot do overtime. When we request a gate pass for that day, we are told that we will not be allowed to do overtime on subsequent days.
Our current wages are not enough to live on. Even with overtime, we cannot cover our families’ basic needs by the end of the month. If we cannot work overtime due to unavoidable reasons and request a gate pass, overtime is withheld the following days. We are pressured to leave immediately after regular working hours, and we are subjected to harsh scolding and verbal abuse.
When workers go to the store to exchange worn or damaged work equipment, the person in charge speaks rudely and dismissively. Because workers handle machinery daily, some equipment must be replaced for safety reasons. However, replacements are sometimes refused, and when items are replaced, they are handed over with insulting remarks.
The factory required all workers to sign a document stating that if relevant authorities mandate a wage increase, the factory will deduct the increase from the allowances currently being paid, and that workers agree to this deduction.
Factory management did not explain the reasons, conditions, or details of this reduction. There was no discussion, consultation, or request for workers’ opinions. Instead, OS staff and supervisors were called in and workers were pressured to sign.
When workers asked questions or requested to read the document carefully, OS staff, supervisors, and responsible personnel refused to allow us to read it and pressured us to sign immediately. Some workers refused to sign. The allowance in question was money gained through worker protests and demands because current wages are insufficient given rising living costs.
Therefore, we request that the factory transparently present and discuss any such conditions, and that negotiations be conducted with worker representatives before implementing any decisions, especially since not all workers agreed by signing.
Interpreters in the factory are directly giving orders to workers. Supervisors give one set of instructions, interpreters give another, resulting in confusion, reduced productivity, and mistakes.
When work is not completed, OS staff and supervisors blame workers only. According to agreements from employer–employee negotiations, interpreters are not supposed to directly instruct workers, yet this practice continues.
We request that factory management comply with the signed agreements.
Obtaining a gate pass is also very difficult. To receive one, signatures are required from a supervisor, OS staff, HR, and a technician—four signatures in total.
There was prior discussion and agreement that gate passes would be made easier to obtain, and this is documented in a contract. However, the factory continues to require all four signatures as before.
For urgent health or family matters, workers often have to wait a long time for signatures, resulting in delayed departure.
In some cases, even when factory nurses approve workers to go home due to illness, OS staff and supervisors refuse to sign, forcing workers to take medicine and continue working. We request that factory management implement the agreement signed on May 28, 2025.
Regarding discrimination, verbal abuse, oppression, and intimidation in the workplace:
Workers have submitted complaints through suggestion boxes, reported issues to the Workplace Coordinating Committee, and raised concerns with HR and responsible personnel. To this day, no action has been taken.
Even when complaints are raised during audits, the factory has not taken corrective action. Responsible persons at Dishang Fashion (Myanmar) Co., Ltd. have failed to discipline OS staff and supervisors who violate employment contract rules, and have failed to implement agreements jointly signed by employers and workers, thereby continuing these violations.
Workers’ demands are as follows:
- Stop verbal abuse, intimidation, discrimination, and bullying when setting production targets, and fully implement Clause (င) of the agreement signed on May 28, 2025.
- Simplify the gate pass process in accordance with Clause (ဇ) of the agreement signed on May 28, 2025.
- Regarding any wage increases mandated by authorities, consult and negotiate with worker representatives before implementation, and cancel the current forced signing process.
- Properly inspect and replace necessary work equipment when requested.
- Take effective disciplinary action, in accordance with the EC agreement, against OS staff and supervisors who engage in rude behavior, verbal abuse, intimidation, and misuse of authority.
- Ensure interpreters perform only their translation duties and do not directly instruct workers.
Respectfully,
Workers of Dishang Fashion (Myanmar) Co., Ltd. Garment Factory
