"NISHO (2) factory workers request for a day off because they are working without a day off", 23 December 2024

At the NISHO (2) factory...around 250 workers who sew HanGTen... clothes have said that they would like to ask for a rest period because they have been working for a month without a day off and their health has been affected.

[A worker] complained to the Department of Labor Relations that he was working overtime without a day off...

Despite operating with a workforce of over 250, there is no trade union or workplace coordination committee in the workplace.

"...I had to [work] overtime until 8 p.m. every day...there is no day off for a whole month. [They] don't ask for the consent of the workers.... I want them to tell the workers in advance if they have to work overtime...." the worker said.

In addition to being forced to work overtime on Sundays, which is a public holiday, and continuing to work non-stop on the following Monday, the workers say that they suffer from lack of sleep, health problems and illnesses.

In addition, workers are forced to work continuously without rest periods during overtime, and workers are not entitled to casual leave and other benefits, he said.

"Regarding the issue of leave, workers who understand labor rights have the right to enjoy it. Some workers who do not understand it cannot. If they take a day off due to health damage due to continuous work, they will be cut a day's wages of 5,800 day pay [and] 10,000 daily wages, a total of 15,800. The worker who is given a skill level will be downgraded. For example, if an A contractor is demoted to B, but he is still working at A level," the worker said.

According to the workers, day laborers with 6 months to one year of experience are...not appointed as permanent workers.

"There are a lot of day laborers with 6 months to 1 year of work experience. They are only hired as day laborers and they do not get the benefits of seniority, social security benefits, or vacation days. It is very painful. Among those day laborers, there are many skilled workers. If they are skilled workers, they are hired as wage laborers for more than 6 months, then they are fired because they do not have work...they are called back...," said a worker from the workplace.

As a violation of workers' rights in the workplace, they demand [targets that are higher] than [what] a worker can sew and demand up to 70 fabrics per hour.

In addition to the above-mentioned pollution in the workplace, there is also a lack of occupational safety and health issues.

[Workers ask for the factory to] inform them in advance [of overtime] and to ask [what] the workers [want]...they would like to request that workers with 6 months to 1 year of experience be...employed on Sundays, that they do not shout in the workplace, repair the damaged toilets, and make it safe in the workplace.

[Translation via Google Translate]