By Yoon Sat - Feb 16, 2025
Workers from the Myanmar Jiale Fashion garment factory, located on Chindwin Road in Shwe Than Lwin Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon Region, report facing excessive production targets, forced overtime, denial of leave, and the lack of employment contracts for some workers. Additionally, the factory hires daily wage workers and dismisses them when orders decline, prompting workers to call for a resolution to these issues.
“The standard working hours are from 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM. However, they demand overtime work until 8:30 PM when production is urgent. Workers are worried and reluctant to work overtime, but they are forced to do so under pressure due to ongoing labor rights concerns. We are not allowed to speak up. The production targets are also unreasonable. A single production line, with only 25 workers, is expected to produce up to 40 pairs of pants. Factory management pressures us to produce 50 pieces, forcing us to work beyond capacity even when we meet the previous target. There is also a rework line within the factory. The factory does not assign enough workers to the sewing lines, and when the required targets are not met, they yell at and verbally abuse the workers daily,” said some workers.
The factory is owned by a Chinese national and employs over 700 workers, manufacturing Velilla and Sinsay brands pants. A significant number of daily wage workers are hired but they are dismissed unlawfully when orders decrease. Additionally, the factory employs underage workers aged 15 to 16 without requiring medical clearance from a doctor.
Workers also state that they are denied legally entitled leave. Leave it is not granted, and when absent for a day, they face deductions, including daily wages, attendance bonuses, and a 7,000 MMK support allowance, totaling 30,000 MMK.
Furthermore, workers with more than six months of employment are not provided with EC contracts. Additionally, the per-piece production bonuses are not transparently communicated, leaving workers in uncertainty.
Workers are calling for assistance and have made the following demands:
- Factory management should only set reasonable production targets that workers can meet.
- Factory management should grant leave when requested by workers.
- Factory management should provide EC contracts to workers who have been employed for over six months.
- Factory management should transparently disclose per-piece production bonus rates.
- Factory management should not unlawfully dismiss daily wage workers when orders decline.
