"Yichang Handbag (Myanmar) said there is a violation of workers' rights at the garment factory", 3 April 2024

At the Yichang Handbag (Myanmar) backpack sewing factory...the workers who work under contract are not allowed to enjoy leave.

The factory...employs about 500 workers and sews Lenovo branded bags.

"The violations are medical leave and casual leave. I went to the social security clinic because of bad living conditions...the clinic gave me medical leave, but the factory did not pay me the daily allowance. If there was an emergency [and] I took casual leave...the daily allowance was cut from 5,800 kyat to 20,000 kyat, which is a loss for the workers," said the worker.

The worker said that drinking water in the workplace is not clean, the toilets are not clean, and there is no medicine in the medical room, so if there is a minor injury in the workplace, there is not even a plaster to put on it.

The working time is from 8:00 am to 6:30 am, and if the order is important, I have to [work until] 8:00 pm to 12:00 pm.

"If [they] call for overtime, [they] don't tell you in advance...," the worker said.

The worker explained that a machine line with 50 people, including super[visor], is set to sew 130 bags per hour, and the worker explains that they are sewing 1,300 bags in 10 hours (including 2 hours of overtime).

[The] supervisors...swear and...speak rudely [when they] ask for [targets].

Day laborers are forced to work in the workplace, and day laborers who have completed 3 months of service are not confirmed and appointed, and workers are often fired...

[Translation via Google Translate]