Myo Thein
We are workers from the CYKK garment factory. The factory forces us to work overtime against our will, and even on Sundays and official public holidays they make us work without paying any wages.
“We are forced to work overtime. If we refuse, they threaten to fire us. They don’t pay wages, they don’t give allowances, and they threaten not to pay us for the days we don’t come. If we are absent for just one day, they deduct as much as 30,000 kyats. When they call us to work overtime on Sundays, there is no ferry provided, so we have to come to work at our own expense. We don’t receive any overtime pay. We are being made to work for free,” workers said.
We are also threatened that if we miss even one day of work, both our attendance bonus and daily wages will be cut. There is no clear explanation about how to take medical leave or social security leave, so we are losing our rights as workers.
Currently, the daily wage is set at 8,000 kyats and overtime pay at 2,000 kyats per hour, but wages are always paid late. We face transportation difficulties as salaries are paid late every payday.
“On payday, salaries are supposed to be paid by 4:30 p.m., but they only pay after 5 p.m. By then it’s already late. There are not enough ferry vehicles either, so getting home late becomes very difficult,” workers said.
In addition, even when we ask to leave work due to health conditions, they completely refuse to give gate passes and force us to keep working.
“Even when we ask to go home because we are sick, they don’t issue a gate pass. Just yesterday, a worker with an asthma condition became seriously ill at work, but they still forced that person to continue working,” a worker said.
Not only do they refuse gate passes, but in order to meet production targets, one worker is made to do at least two different jobs. If the target is still not met, we are verbally abused.
“The sewing points are difficult, and when one person has to do two tasks under pressure, the targets can’t be met. When that happens, the supervisors scold and blame us,” a worker said.
Since we started working, we have only had one rest break for meals, and even that break is not fully given.
“They say the lunch break is 30 minutes, but in reality we only get about 15 minutes. The supervisors shout for us from the factory entrance. Even during our break, we are forced to listen to loud announcements, so we never get proper rest. Other than the lunch break, we don’t get any rest at all until overtime ends in the evening,” workers said.
CYKK garment factory is located near the corner of U Pho Kyar Road and Saya San Road, Mingaladon Township, Yangon. According to workers, the factory manufactures Japanese orders for the Tomor Sakura brand.
