“WCC elections in factories where voting for the candidate of your choice is disenfranchised and abusive labor conditions”, 10 February 2023

Last January 17th, during the WCC (Labor Coordination Committee) election at the Lucky Fortune Garment Factory, the dissatisfied workers said that if they voted for a representative other than the labor representative chosen by the employer, the vote would be rejected and they did not have the right to vote for the labor representative they liked.

It is also reported that the factory… operates with more than 1,100 workers in Yangon's Shwepytha Industrial Zone 4…

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The WCC (Labor Affairs Coordinating Committee) was held without a labor organization (trade union) in the workplace.

Dissatisfied workers say that the election was led by the employer, and without any explanation of the voting process, the representatives selected by the workers were excluded without being selected, and only 3 worker representatives chosen by the employer were allowed to vote, and the vote was rejected if given to others.

… instead of dealing with labor issues in the workplace, the WCC, which was formed at the discretion of the employer, was forced to sign for overtime on the day after the election….

In the workplace, workers are demanding more than what they can sew, and if the [targets] are not met, the supervisors are still yelling at them.

"In…40 minutes, I [was] asked for 60 pieces of pants and 50 for jackets, so I didn't drink water during work because I didn't want to take it easy. If I didn't [meet the target], I was insulted rudely," said a garment worker who did not want to be named.

In addition, overnight all-night (all night) overtime OT calls are being made on Sundays, and there is no day off.

"… Most of them don't get paid for overtime, they can't get off…Also, they are angry and discriminated against me, so that I don't dare to oppose them again," said the worker who is having a hard time.

young workers under the age of 18 are forced to work in the workplace, and…there are cases where they are forced to hide when an inspection comes.

It is reported that if one day's work is missed…a total of 15,200 kyats will be deducted.

The workers said that they want to solve the violation of workers' rights in the workplace, and not to discriminate against workers on Sundays, to force them to work on Sundays, to provide sufficient clean drinking water for ferrying pregnant workers if they do not go to OT, and to receive statutory leave benefits.

[Translation via Google Translate]