By Myo Thein - Aug 20, 2025
#Letter
(Alienation of workers, attempts to reduce workforce, ferry vehicle changes and transport issues, and coercive pressure)
We are workers from Glowin and Glowin & Win garment factories, located at No. 272/273, between Zaykabar 6th and 7th Streets, Zaykabar Industrial Zone, Yangon Region.
We are writing to bring your attention to a series of pressing concerns related to workplace oppression, discriminatory treatment, and violations of workers’ rights that we are facing on a daily basis.
The female interpreter and advisor to the factory owner has consistently shown a lack of respect for the dignity and basic human decency of workers.
For example, she instructed for cardboard barriers to be laid in the drivers’ rest area because she disapproved of them resting there. When drivers tried to use the room provided for breaks, it was found locked. As a result, some of them have had to seek shelter outside in the rain, facing considerable hardship.
Both factories have halted the hiring of new workers since August 1st. We’ve heard plans to merge the two factories, and in the meantime, there are growing efforts to pressure existing employees to resign by creating an increasingly difficult work environment.
The management has suddenly replaced larger ferry buses with smaller ones as part of this pressure, citing worker resignation as a reason. However, this has left us crowded and cramped in the transport vehicles, to the point that workers say they feel like being packed in “like fermented fish paste or sour fish.”
When we raised this issue with WCC and HR, and eventually reported it to the factory owner, the advisor responded by simply stating that "300 workers have resigned." She did not disclose the switch to smaller vehicles.
The advisor has also been exerting undue pressure on the HR department, pushing them to terminate workers arbitrarily. When the HR Manager declined to do so and insisted on following legal procedures, the advisor began calling them "useless" and continued applying pressure. She reportedly said, “I’ll pay the compensation out of my own salary and get them fired even if the owner doesn’t approve.”
Following a previous complaint filed by some drivers to the labour office, the advisor allegedly retaliated by selling off company vehicles and terminating two of the drivers involved in the complaint.
We see this as a clear act of intimidation against current workers, intended to deter any further complaints. It has severely impacted our sense of safety and psychological well-being at work.
Therefore, we respectfully request that relevant authorities take immediate and serious action to protect workers’ rights under the law, address and put a stop to the ongoing oppression.
Sincerely,
Workers of Glowin and Glowin & Win Factories
