"At KFINE INTERNATIONAL GARMENT, workers are asked not to take too much time", 25 June 2023

At the KFINE INTERNATIONAL GARMENT garment factory, which was opened in Bagu Township's eastern Waing Village field no…

According to the workers, the factory is owned by German nationals and manufactures Korean-style warm clothes bought by RESERVED, an international brand.

The worker said that on Saturdays and Sundays, which are public holidays, they are calling overtime until 10:30 p.m…

As garment workers, working for about 15 hours a day without a day off is causing health problems and the workers say that they are having a hard time.

"The OT [pay] was 1,400 from last Monday, but it was 1,200 before. There is no food, no social security benefits. I have OT, but I can't bear it anymore," the worker said…

"Every day like this, I can't bear it anymore. When I came to check the [target], the department said that the [target] was set at 20…it's unfair to ask for 60 stitches. There are more than 70 people per machine line, and they have to stitch 60 times per point. If there are health problems, fainting, or illness, the day's wages are lost, the professional fees are cut…

The salary of a garment worker, who sews every second except during mealtime, is 4,800 kyats per day and 1,200 kyats per hour overtime. If you combine the daily fee with the professional fee, you will only get around 200,000 to 300,000 Burmese money.

The workers said that they have informed that they will pay 5,600 kyats as a day fee and 1,400 kyats an hour for OT, and that this is not a significant change.

The number of workers at the factory is estimated to be around 2,000, and they tried to complain to the relevant labor offices about their work-related difficulties, but when they visited for inspection, they found it difficult to answer truthfully.

"I tried to complain. When the department came to check, they didn't ask me to answer the truth. The manager was standing next to the people who came to check…” said the worker.

He said that the workers would like to demand that [more] meal time in the workplace, to arrange a ferry…to reduce the OT time, to call the working time to the specified time…and not to force pregnant women to leave work.

[Translation via Google Translate]