By Hsu Latt Phyu - Aug 26, 2024
Workers from LITA MYANMAR garment which located at Industrial Zone 4, Shwe Pyi Thar Township, Yangon Region said that they are being violated by not getting access to leave, not being able to select Workplace Coordination Committee representatives, not getting overtime wages on Saturdays and being asked for excessive fabric outputs.
The factory is owned by a Chinese national and manufacturing BURTLE, CONVERSE, SERVO, Brillage, samansa and mandai brands with more than 900 workers.
The factory ask for excessive fabric outputs such as 45 apparal per hour for a production line with 45 workers including supervisor and helper. The employer alone is deciding the fabric output demands. The supervisors are allowed to verbally abuse to the workers by the administrators if the output demands are not meet.
“They asked 23 fabrics per hour at iron department while workers can finish 20 per hour without even drinking water. They don’t consider our times to drink water or use restroom. They consider us as robots and even compare us with tap servicers. It is the same for other snap and qc departments. The all super Daw --- verbally abuse us if we can’t finish the fabric output demands asked by the employer. There were many workers who resigned as the factory doesn’t allow gate pass for health issue,” said a worker.
Workers said that they don’t get legal casual, medical and social security leaves and labeled as absent even if they submit social security documents. “The workers riskily told the inspectors about not getting leave but it still aren’t either,” a worker explained.
There are around 30 day laborers hired in the factory and get paid only daily wages on Saturdays where they worked 8 hours a day. Their overtime fees were exploited. Workers were forced to sign acceptance letter of selecting 3 workers’ representatives on August 11, 2024 although they don’t know who are they.
“Actually we should select the representatives of the worker’s,” a worker said.
A worker who is not satisfied said that there is no trade union and the Workplace Coordination Committee can’t address the workplace disputes as they were only elected by the employer and doesn’t represent the workers.
“Only production lines got paid 30,000 kyats attendance bonus for working every day but other lines don’t get paid. Workers don’t work here for so long as the factory pay only basic wages and overtime fees. In addition, we have to sign warning for an absent. The manufacturing brands are sub-orders from other factories and the QCs from those factories also checked quality at here as well. A representative from the brand asked workers one by one about the situations. Workers said they don’t get attendance bonus and legal leaves but the interpreter Ma--- of a Japanese buyer help the factory by saying the “Isn’t because of you were absent.” It is not convenient to answer the truth as they ask us in front of the office stuffs,” said a worker.
According to the workers, some workers are taught in advanced upon how to answer the inspections from the brands and they are intimidated with their job stability if they answer the truth.
Workers asked some points regarding the changes in the workplace. Their demands covers
1. To allow legal casual and medical leave.
2. To pay attendance bonus the same to all departments
3. To allow the workers to select representatives of WCC who can really represent them
4. To pay overtime wages for 4 hours on Saturdays which workers worked 8 hours.
5. To not ask excessive fabric outputs
6. To pay back the daily wages of the workers who submit social security leaves.
