By Min Ni Kyaw - Apr 06, 2025
#LETTER
We’re sorry to bring up our difficulties at such this time.
Our factory is ZHEJIANG TONLI Clothing (Myanmar), located on Nawaday Min Gyi Road, Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township.
The workers are being heavily exploited here. The factory daily wage is 4,800 kyats. It provides a 2,000 kyats support allowance. However, this support allowance is not given during holidays.
1,000 kyats is deducted from that support allowance we don’t work overtime. Even after working the entire month, we don’t receive a full salary of 400,000 kyats.
We are given 11 days off for the Thingyan holiday. But we are made to work two consecutive Saturdays without any overtime pay as compensation as two extra days are included.
Not only that, but we are also made to work the whole day on April 5 as compensation for those extra holidays The factory pre-trains the workers on how to respond if inspections occur. The people questioned by the inspectors are those selected and trained by the factory.
Workers are not allowed to present real difficulties and concerns. Working hours are from 8:00 AM. Lunch break is at 12:00 noon. Work continues until 6:30 PM after a 30-minute break. One day, the power went out at 11:30 AM. Since it was expected to last long, they told us to take a lunch break. But we had to resume work again by 12:00 noon. It does not even allow a short rest during power cuts.
We receive nothing in return with holiday substitutions and unpaid off days. Sewing line workers only receive about one-fourth—around 40,000 kyats even if the ticket price for the garments is 100,000 kyats.
We don’t know what deductions are being made. There is no clear explanation provided to the workers. Compared to other factories, the salary here is extremely low. Things are getting worse as we don’t understand what the factory is doing.
We barely manage to provide our families 100,000 kyats per month. Going back home for Thingyan is difficult with rising prices. Even 10,000 kyats means a lot to us.
For example, 15,000 kyats is equivalent to one month's dorm rent. Although 15,000 kyats may not seem like much these days, the factory acts like we shouldn’t ask for it if they decide not to give it.
Ee continue working even when unwell, just to make sure we don’t lose our daily wage since our salary isn’t high. We workers are enduring it all just because jobs are scarce. We’re suffering a lot.
We want the authorities to know the difficulties faced by workers when they come to inspect the factory.
Please help us.
