By Ma Ma - Nov 29, 2024
Workers at Myanmar Huasheng Kefu Fashion Co., Ltd., a Chinese national owned garment factory, have reported that the factory is refusing to promote day laborers to permanent status after three months of employment and is unlawfully terminating salaried workers who refuse to work overtime.
The factory, located on Mya Khattar Road in the Mya Seing Yaing Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, employs over 300 workers. It manufactures Sinsay brand. Workers say that there is no trade union in the factory, leaving them vulnerable to violations of their labor rights.
“We sew coats. The employer forces workers to work overtime until 9 PM without asking for their consent, claiming the work is urgent. There are no proper public holidays either. If we refuse to do overtime, we’re terminated. After firing workers, they rehire them later. They fire and rehire as they please. Another issue is that they deliberately erase employment histories. They don’t promote daily wage workers to permanent status after three months. Some workers from the previous factory weren’t even transitioned from daily wage to salaried positions,” said one factory worker.
Workers also reported that the factory demands unreasonably high output demands. A single production line, consisting of only 40 workers, is expected to produce 35 coats per hour.
To meet these high quotas, supervisors and Chinese national women frequently shout at workers using loudspeakers and demand completion of production every 30 minutes instead of hourly. When the targets are not met, supervisors and Chinese female managers enter the production lines and verbally abuse workers in an excessive manner.
“There are also underage workers in the factory. Even though the factory is aware they are underage, they accept applications with fake IDs. These children are made to work like adults without medical certificates. Workers are paid 6,800 MMK per day, which includes the daily wage and support allowance. Attendance bonuses are 40,000 MMK. However, if we take a day off, we lose not only our daily wage and subsidy but also 20,000 MMK from the attendance bonus. The factory doesn’t even have a clinic,” workers explained.
Workers have reached out to the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) to seek assistance in addressing these labor violations. The demands from the workers include legal recognition of their leave entitlements, an end to verbal abuse by supervisors and Chinese women when demanding production quotas, a request to set realistic and achievable production quotas, promotion of day laborers to permanent status after three months, stopping the unlawful termination of workers who refuse overtime, casing forced overtime without workers’ consent and establishing a clinic in the factory and providing basic medical supplies.
