[Unofficial summary translation from Chinese-to-English provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

Civil society organizations in Taiwan protested outside Wise Unicorn Industrial Ltd. in Taipei, alleging that the company operates a "sweatshop" in Myanmar. The key issues center around a labor dispute at Wise Unicorn's Charis Sculpture Factory in Yangon, Myanmar.

The dispute began when workers staged a sit-in starting October 31st over unpaid bonuses and overtime issues. The situation escalated when two female workers were allegedly assaulted by supervisors and were subsequently fired. On November 6th, 350 workers went on strike.

According to the activists, Wise Unicorn sought help from Myanmar's military government on November 22nd, resulting in 20 military personnel entering the factory and threatening workers to end the strike. More than 50 workers who participated in the strike have reportedly been fired, 200 workers still have not returned to work in the factory, and 30 workers are at frontline of the strike.

Wise Unicorn issued a statement defending their position:

• They had already raised daily wages from 6,800 to 7,800 Myanmar Kyat (about NT$122) in July
• They rejected workers' new demands for 9,000 Kyat daily wage as "unreasonable" coming just 4 months later
• They characterized the strike as disruptive and beyond normal labor disputes

The company's representative, Gao Youfen, claimed they only sought help from regular labor authorities and police, stating she "didn't know which party's government it was."...