Myanmar: Workers at Tianjin Fashion Milestone Garment factory reported mandatory overtime, excessive production targets and intimidation
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 27 Feb 2023
Location: Myanmar
Companies
LPP Spółka Akcyjna - Buyer , Bestseller - Buyer , Primark (part of Associated British Foods) - Former buyer , Vero Moda (part of Bestseller) - Buyer , Zara (part of Inditex) - Reported buyer , Tianjin Fashion Milestone - Supplier , ONLY (part of Bestseller) - Buyer , Inditex - Reported buyer , Sinsay (part of LPP S.A.) - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1000
Workers: ( 1000 - Location unknown , Clothing & textile , Gender not reported )Issues
Occupational Health & Safety , Wage Theft , Mandatory overtime , Excessive production targetsResponse
Response sought: Yes, by BHRRC
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Tianjin Fashion Milestone allegedly supplies or has supplied to Inditex for its ZARA brand, BESTSELLER for its ONLY and VERO MODA brands, LPP S.A for its Sinsay brand and Primark; Primark and BESTSELLER provided a response to a request for comment from the Resource Centre. Primark said its final handover as a result of its responsible exit took place in June 2023. Inditex and LPP S.A. had previously stated it did not source from the factory. In September 2024, LPP informed us it sources from the factory.
Source type: News outlet
" Workers request to form a new WCC instead of the employer"
... Workers at the Tianjin Fashion Milestone Garment Factory say that there is no labor union in the factory with more than 1,000 workers.
The workers of the factory opened in Shwe Lin Van Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thayar Township, said that WCC has not resolved the difficulties in the workplace, so they want to request a new organization.
When the workers asked for a new reorganization of the WCC Labor Coordination Committee established by the employer, it was denied that the term of office was 3 years and it was impossible to reconstitute.
It is said that workers from the company sew warm shirts and other designs for Primark brands.
In the workplace, there are requests for excessive targets that a worker can sew, and the workers say that they tried to sew, but the supervisors yelled at them and forced them to do so.
"If the target one day is 50 pieces per hour, and the next target is 60. For fear of not meeting the production target, workers even don't drink water, go to the toilet, and the supervisors and line leaders are screaming and asking for more than they can handle."
In the workplace, there are cases where workers are forced to work overtime, and because there is no ferry arrangement for workers who do not work overtime, they are often robbed. Unsatisfied workers say that they have reported these inconveniences to the WCC and asked for help, but the workplace violations have been ignored.
"Because of the way things are in the workplace, you can't take casual leave on Saturday, you can't take a day off on Saturday, and if you do, you'll have to take the day off anyway, and you'll get a cut of the day allowance and professional fees," said the unnamed worker...
[Translation via Google Translate]