By Min Ni Kyaw - May 16, 2025
#Letter
I work at Tian Yu shoe factory.
I’ve been working here for quite a long time now.
There have been many complaints about the factory, but nothing has ever really been resolved effectively.
Now, people are writing comments under the recent news post — that’s because the other day, the factory manager called in line leaders for a meeting and told them to commented that “the news isn’t true.”
That’s why they’re posting those comments.
Most of the people writing are from the leadership— line leaders and people from the manager’s office. There are people I personally know among those commenting under the post — line leaders and other acquaintances.
Right now, we’re not yet working until 8:30 PM. I heard they’re planning to call for that soon. As of now, we work until 7:30 PM.
There have been inspections at the factory. Officials from the labour office have come.
The line leaders immediately instruct us right on the spot about what to say and how to answer whenever they plan to question workers.
I myself was instructed and had to answer accordingly. Once, when they questioned a new worker, she didn’t answer the way they had trained us. She was scolded and fired from the factory.
The gate is kept open at lunchtime so we can leave when officials from the labor office are present. But on normal days, we need a gate pass signed by the line supervisor and a section leader to go out.
They won’t ask why even if we have a reason to go out— they just say no. We can’t get out easily for any reason. Workers are afraid to speak up, so no one does.
The usual finishing time is 6:30 PM n days without overtime. We work until 7:30 PM if there’s OT. So, we work two to three hours of OT each day.
Right now, the lower floors have to work until 7:30 PM, and the upper floors finish at 6:30 PM.
We work on Sundays every other week.
These are the things I’ve personally experienced.
I also saw a post from an account that wrote about the factory — they told the truth.
Thank you so much for always standing with the workers and reporting the truth.
(Tain Yu shoe factory is located on Padauk Road in Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon. According to workers, it is a Chinese-owned factory. Based on 2023 data, around 3,000 workers are making H&M brand shoes there.)
