"Vic song: Myanmar factory workers have to mix and eat with animals", 3 May 2024

At the Vic song-Myanmar footwear Co.,Ltd factory in Bagu City, the workers said that there were not enough dining rooms, so they had to eat together with the goats raised in the factory.

"The factory canteen can accommodate only 800 workers...we had lunch on the factory lawn and in some places in the factory. There are people who have to sit and eat on the road to the toilet. The bad thing is, The goats born in the factory also come to the dining room...Goat dung is also spread, so it is not convenient to eat. "Working in the heat is exhausting," said a female worker...

More than 2,000 workers are working in the Myanmar footwear factory, and Soliver...brand shoes [are made]. Every year, the factory closes for a few months starting around February and reopens around May...

For the period when the factory is closed, we only get 40 percent of the monthly salary...

During factory closures, workers are fired without compensation [if they] have 3 months of working experience. He added that people who have worked for 6 months are often fired. After telling the workers that the factory was closed, I usually get a call from the next day that I've been fired...

He said that if the laid-off workers return to work, they will be rehired, but most of them are new people who come to work. One of the workers also said that even though the workers complain to the relevant labor offices every year because of their grievances, no urgent action is taken...

The factory's working hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but they were forced to come in 15 minutes early...and even though they were asked to come in early...they never received overtime pay.

"...The workers have come early in the morning so they haven't had breakfast yet. The meeting lasted only five minutes. After that, you can't go to breakfast. Some of the workers even fainted when they were forced to go to work. Some had to eat on the bus. I have to work about 10 minutes in advance. At lunch time, he told me that he would pay half an hour overtime. Paycheck does not include overtime pay. "said a worker...

...it is also reported that some leaders in the workplace have been forced to swear. The workers said that on the days they had to work overtime, they had to work continuously for 6 hours without a break from 12:30 PM until 6:30 PM.

"When I press my fingerprint...500 is deducted if I press it 1 minute earlier [than when my shift finishes]. Some were cut four, five or six thousand. It happened while going out to get a seat in the shuttle..." said one worker...

...there are injuries in the workplace in Myanmar, [but] the workers said that there is no medicine to treat them at the clinic, and some leaders and some security personnel were asked if they went to the clinic to hide from work.

"If you go to the clinic, there is no medicine. The clinic is quite far from the workplace. Wanting to take advantage of this, I asked if it was a clinic...The [clinic said] that if I]show up, it [must be] during work hours. The leaders also said that they should not go to the hospital during working hours...Because of that, I am very reluctant to go to the clinic. " he continued.

The workers told Myanmar Labor News that, in addition...the factory also threatened to fire those who did not work overtime. In months with high orders, all the workers said in unison that they had to work without a day off for the whole month without any day off, without giving them any leave at all...

[Translation via Google Translate]