By Min Ni Kyaw - Jun 08, 2025
Workers at ETEC who are demanding wage increases say they are being threatened by factory management. According to the workers, they were warned that the military would be called in to arrest and imprison those involved in the protests.
“We’ve been protesting since June 4. The threats increase as time passes. First, they told us that protesting after signing contracts would lead to imprisonment,” one worker said.
Around 600 workers are participating in the demand, and they claim the threats are being delivered via phone calls. The wage demands began on June 2, and that same day, the factory announced that an agreement had been reached with workers for a daily wage of 8,200 kyats.
“We heard that things were resolved when the shift ended on the 2nd. But no one explained what was resolved, and the workers involved in the negotiation didn’t clarify either. By the morning of the 3rd, we were just told the wage was 8,200 kyats. The workers rejected it, and that’s why we protested again on the 4th,” said the workers.
A copy of the agreement signed by current worker representatives has been circulating on social media. However, it only bears the signatures of WCC representatives of the employer-side and employee-side signatories—no independent witnesses or employer signatures were included.
“The factory says they raised the daily wage to 8,200 kyats, but that includes the 2,000 kyats provided by the government. The factory itself only added 1,400 kyats. We’re demanding 10,000 kyats daily wage and 2,000 kyats per hour for overtime. There are all kinds of threats happening,” the workers added.
The threats include lawsuits against protesting workers, warning that armed units including Pyusawhti militias will be brought in to arrest them, intimidation phone calls to workers’ family members, and surveillance of labour leaders, according to the workers.
“Now they say that only workers with full uniforms and employee ID cards will be allowed in on Monday. Previously, ferries dropped workers inside the factory gates, but guards shouted not to take in workers who had retrieved their ID cards on last Friday. One gate was shut. They’re accusing us of damaging factory property, which is not true. We haven’t done anything wrong—it’s just a threat,” said one worker.
Since the renewed protest began on June 4, the factory has issued a statement saying that those who do not enter the workplace will not receive wages, attendance bonuses, or any other benefits.
ETEC (Earth Tamura Electronic Myanmar Co., Ltd) is an electronics manufacturing company. Within the same compound is another factory, Earth Industrial (Myanmar) Company Limited (EI), whose workers are also participating in the joint wage demand.
ETEC employs over 900 workers, with nearly 800 being women. The factory is owned by Daw Khaing Zar Myint, and negotiations with the workers have reportedly been led by Director Daw Than Than Myint. The factory is located on Yautkaw Road, South Dagon Industrial Zone 1.
