"Sewell Garment Myanmar factory workers request to return expert fees as before", 19 January 2024

The workers of the Sewell Garment Myanmar factory, which was opened in Hlaing Tharyar Township, Yangon Region, demanded that the workers of the Sewell Garment Myanmar factory be paid the same rate as before.

Currently, the garment workers have to work from 8:00 am to 6:30 pm and are working with 4,800 kyats per day, 1,200 kyats per hour overtime, 1,000 kyats allowance per hour, and because they are not self-sufficient for food, the workers said that they would like to request a refund of the professional fees that were previously paid...

The worker said that it has been almost 3 years since the previously fixed professional fees were changed to a single card fee, and since the professional fee is only received when the [target set] by the employer is met, the worker said that he is having a hard time due to the excessive [targets].

"In the past, the professional fee (A2+) was 55,000 kyats (A+) 45,000 (B+) 25,000 (C) 15,000. Now, without the employee's consent, the fee has been changed by the employer's request. They also do not show how much they get per piece of clothing...The price of food and food is not enough. I just want professional fees first," said the worker.

The worker said that if they take social security medical leave at work, the employer will [give] 40 percent of it, and the remaining 60 percent must be collected by the worker himself at the social security office.

The workers said that they would like to ask for factors such as the employer to provide social security medical benefits, and to manage [the tempperature] in the workplace...interpreters to request [targets] that the workers can meet [and] to reset the professional fees that they have previously received.

He said that there is no labor union in the workplace, but the WCC was formed at the discretion of the entrepreneur. More than 500 workers are working in the factory... it is reported that Yamadatatsu Original Japanese Brands [clothes] are being sewn and exported.

[Translation via Google Translate]