Labor rights violations during the Thadingyut holidays or 2024 October violations

Out of the 108 news articles published by Myanmar Labour News in October, 40 highlighted the violations of labor rights and laws. These included reports involving 33 factories.

The factory mentioned the most, with four reports, was Eternal Fashion Co, Ltd, making it the most reported factory during October. Following it, factories such as BEST GARMENT (LAOS) CO, LTD, Kingsrich Myanmar, Myanmar Jiale Fashion Co, Ltd, and Prettex Myanmar were each reported twice. BEST GARMENT (LAOS) CO, LTD is from Laos and the other factories are located in Myanmar.

Myanmar Labour News' analysis of labor rights violations based on labor rights, gender equality, current legal provisions, ILO regulations, and protests. These violations were categorized into 27 types, with 23 types exposed during October.

The most prevalent violations were wage deductions and excessive overtime demands, often occurring simultaneously. These violations were prominently reported at ETERNAL FASHION CO, LTD.

ETERNAL FASHION CO, LTD, a Chinese-owned factory located in the Anawrahta Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon, employs over 10,000 workers. It is a large, three-story factory that manufactures clothing for brands such as balabala, SEMIR, CN: L, EUR: M, US: M and others.

The factory hires workers through social medias, offering a salary of around 10 lakhs kyats, including daily wages, attendance bonus, subsidy, ticket fees and expert fees. However, there was no mention of the exact number of overtime hours required during the application process.

On October 21, an accident involving a factory transport bus occurred at the Yoe Gyi bus stop, Hlaing Thar Yar, resulting in injuries to workers onboard, including fractures and facial injuries, with one worker requiring surgery. On October 22, an employee returning from an overtime shift at 5 a.m. was hit by a car, sustaining head injuries that required hospitalization.

"Excessive and unfair overtime often lead to severe injuries and even fatalities among workers. Although the factory provided some medical support for workers injured in the initial bus accident, they did not cover the medical costs of non-severe cases or provide leave for those too traumatized to return to work. These relentless pressures to meet the output demands targets leaves workers with minimal rest, working through Sundays and resulting in increased incidents of harm. Authorities do not investigate or address these excessive overtimes," said a worker from ETERNAL FASHION garment factory.

During the Thadingyut holiday, workers were also asked to contribute 25,000 kyats each for vernation to supervisors. Although management later instructed the refund, workers received only 15,000 kyats back.

In meetings, management had promised 15,000 kyats as overtime pay plus an additional 10,000 kyats for snacks during the Thadingyut holiday. However, workers who completed overtime only received the 15,000 kyats without the snack allowance.

"There are more issues, such as the recruitment of new workers, transferring employees they don't favor to non-native lines, establish a new line for those who are favored, pressuring staff to resign, and dismissing long-time workers under various pretexts to hire new workers," mentioned another worker.

Workers at the factory reported that excessive overtime led to workplace injuries and violations on their rights.

Workers mentioned incidents related to the ETERNAL FASHION garment factory five times, with four of these being covered in news reports.

News Link > The full news article highlight pressure from authorities, excessive overtime, wage deductions, salary reductions by superiors, exploitation and discriminations.

In October, up to 20 factories were reported to have deducted wages from workers.

In October, up to 20 factories were reported for wage deductions. These factories included AOHE, BEST GARMENT (LAOS) Co, Ltd, ETERNAL FASHION Co, Ltd, General Textile, Golden Colour Fashion (Myanmar), J-Land Myanmar, Kingsrich Myanmar, LITA MYANMAR Co, Ltd, Mai Yi Bei Garment, MENGYUE GARMENT Co, Ltd, MRTV 4 (Forever Group), Myanmar Jiale Fashion Co, Ltd, Myanmar QI Yuan Garment (2), Myanmar Zhi Xin Garment Co, Ltd, Star Sandar Garment, Straightex Co, Ltd, Sunrise Myanmar Fashion, Textile Palace 2, Vince Myanmar, and Fu Chang garment factory.

Among these, AOHE and Fu Chang garment factories are located in China, while BEST GARMENT (LAOS) Co, Ltd is situated in Laos. MRTV-4 is a media and broadcasting company, and the remaining factories are garment factories.

Another common violation was related to violating overtime laws and directives. In 2022, the Department of Labour Inspection issued a directive for compliance, stating that non-compliance would result in legal action.

In October, Myanmar Labour News reported that 15 factories violated overtime regulations.

These factories include AQUA SHOE, BEST GARMENT (LAOS) CO, LTD, ETERNAL FASHION CO, LTD, General Textile, J-Land Myanmar, Jun Corporation Co, Ltd, KBL Garment, LITA MYANMAR Co, LTD, Myanmar Journey, Myanmar QI Yuan Garment (2), Myanmar Zhi Xin Garment Co, Ltd, Prettex Myanmar, Straightex Co, Ltd, Sunrise Myanmar Fashion, and Fu Chang garment factory.

Gender-based discrimination, coercion, and abuse

In the workplace, these situations arise due to changing perceptions and attitudes toward men and women, leading to social and psychological impacts, according to experts. Reports from Myanmar Labour News indicated that during October, employees continued to experience verbal abuse and coercion by higher-ranking officials. It was found that 11 factories were involved in such violation during the month.

These factories include ETERNAL FASHION CO, LTD, J-Land Myanmar, LUCKY FORTUNE GARMENT, Mai Yi Bei Garment, MENGYUE GARMENT Co, Ltd, Myanmar Jiale Fashion Co, Ltd, Myanmar Journey, Myanmar Zhi Xin Garment Co, Ltd, Star Sandar Garment, Straightex Co, Ltd, and Fu Chang garment factory.

There are up to 10 factories reported for coercion and intimidation. These factories include ETERNAL FASHION CO, LTD, Golden Colour Fashion (Myanmar), He Me T Garment, KBL Garment, LITA MYANMAR Co, LTD, Mai Yi Bei Garment, Myanmar Journey, Myanmar Zhi Xin Garment Co, Ltd, Prettex Myanmar, Straightex Co, Ltd, and TV Apparel 2.

Workplace discrimination includes issues related to wages, grade bonuses, seniority pay, lack of leave, and unequal access to rights. Reports indicated that 10 factories were involved in this type of discrimination.

These factories include ETERNAL FASHION CO, LTD; Jing Ying International Building Material Development Co, Ltd; LITA MYANMAR Co, LTD; MENGYUE GARMENT Co, Ltd; Myanmar Jiale Fashion Co, Ltd; Myanmar Journey; Myanmar QI Yuan Garment (2); Myanmar York; Star Sandar Garment; and Tainjin Fashion Milestone Co, Ltd.

Jing Ying International Building Material Development Co, Ltd is a factory that produces construction materials.

During the Thadingyut period, 3 factories were reported to have used various methods to collect or cut wages under the label of the holiday. These factories were ETERNAL FASHION CO, LTD, LITA MYANMAR Co, LTD, and LUCKY FORTUNE GARMENT.

Two factories were reported for calling day laborers to work during the long Thadingyut holiday. These were General Textile and Myanmar QI Yuan Garment (2).

In October, Myanmar Labour News reports showed that 4 factories did not grant leave, 4 factories conducted illegal dismissals, 4 factories employed underage labor, and 6 factories violated the rights of day laborers, 4 factories were found to have misled inspection teams, 2 factories violated the rights of pregnant workers, 3 factories failed to provide social security benefits, 4 factories violated EC contracts, 1 factory transferred workers without consent, 5 factories forced excessive overtime without breaks, and 5 factories allow foreign nationals to directly manage the workers, 3 factories experienced protests and 6 factories were found demanding output beyond production capacity.

In October, two factories were reported to have strikes: Vince Myanmar shoe factory and Kingsrich Myanmar garment factory. The strikes were related to demands for increased wages and the protest against transportation fee cuts.

Significant event in October are ongoing legal case involving LOTTE MGS Beverage (Myanmar) Co, Ltd, which had not yet been resolved, He MeT garment factory experienced an incident where the military came to enumerate male workers list and Myanmar Jiale Fashion Co, Ltd failed to comply with a township labor office directive to repay deducted funds to workers.

Analysis

The reports highlighted numerous labor rights violations during the long Thadingyut holiday period. Among the most severe issues were unpaid mandatory overtime which is labeled as substitute for holidays and forced wage deductions by higher-ranking officials. Workers have yet to receive restitution for these deductions.

October also saw an increase in violations involving underage and day laborers, as well as disrespectful treatment towards the WCC group.

Forcing excessive overtime without break and tricking the inspection teams have not improved. Additionally, there were reports of social security contributions being made without issuing cards, depriving workers from benefits. Factories were also noted for arbitrary wage cuts and unsafe working conditions.

Furthermore, there was a lack of accountability for workplace incidents, injuries resulting from excessive overtime, heat stress, inadequate safety measures, and insufficient transport arrangements.

These findings represent only a portion and not comprehensively cover all labor rights violations faced by workers in Myanmar. The analysis was limited to reports featured in Myanmar Labour News.

Notice

The monthly reports from Myanmar Labour News stem from direct accounts by trade unions, federations, labor activists and the workers themselves. The goal of these analyses is to offer insights for potential solutions, highlight supportive measures, and provide useful information for impacted workers.

The incidents at He MeT garment and Myanmar Jiale Fashion Co, Ltd are also noted as significant challenges that merit attention.

Workers, labor rights activists, unions, factory owners, and relevant authorities are encouraged to use these findings to foster balanced and mutually acceptable solutions.

Min Ni Kyaw

Myanmar Labour Society
Research Team