"Myanmar Hua Yue Garment Co., Ltd. is committing excessive overtime and labor violations"

MYANMAR HUA YUE Garment Factory in Kalakone Village, Myaungtakha Industrial Zone, Hmawbi Township, Yangon Region, is forced to work excessive overtime and is facing labor violations, workers say.

The factory ... produces jackets and down jackets under brands such as DOWN BARBARA LEBEK, bala bala, etc. There is no labor union at the factory, he said.

"On unmanned lines, a worker is forced to work two stitches per hour, and they ask for about 30 for one stitch, and for two stitches, they pay about 60. If they don't, they have to go on overtime."

The workers said that they were forced to work all night, not given dinner, and not given a ferry.

"They are constantly called OT, all night, and they are forced to work every night, every week. Sometimes they are tired and if they don't work, they are discriminated against, forced to work under pressure. They are forced to work all night without food, but the leaders are fed. When they return, they don't pay a ferry, so they have to go back on their own schedule. The money they spend on OT is used as travel expenses, so it doesn't matter. The workers just lose their strength," the worker said.

Among the workers who work all night, those who go far away have to sleep in the factory. In addition, they are also facing financial difficulties because the overtime pay is paid a week later.

As for the workers' violations, they are not allowed to enjoy the benefits provided by the law. If they miss a day of leave, they are fined 6,800 baht, The daily wage of 40,000 kyats and the professional wage were cut in proportion to the total of 46,800 kyats, and the losses were caused by the fact that they were not paid equally.

In addition, they said that day pay and OT pay were not paid equally.

The working hours are from 8 am to 7:30 pm, and on Saturdays they can leave until 6:30 pm. Starting August 2, they said that the working hours were changed from 8 am to 6:30 pm.

They said that they were suffering because young workers and day laborers were hired in the workplace and were approved after 6 months of service.

"Day laborers are paid only for the days they work and lose their vacation rights. In the workplace, a day laborer fell while hanging clothes on a high bar and was injured. After seeing a doctor, he was told that he had to take 3 days off, and he was fired from his job ... " he said.

[...]

"Almost all the supervisors ... treated the workers rudely, cursed, forced them to sign a Wan Tin certificate, forced them to change departments, pressured the workers to do what the employer wanted, forced them to sign a Wan Tin certificate when they could not see it, and forced HR to fire them," the worker said.

In the factory, the ... factory manager ... shouted at [workers], gave interpreters authority, charged 500 kyats for late fingerprinting, deducted wages from the workers' salaries to kick out the supervisors without their consent, and violated the rules when security guards checked the workers, etc., according to the worker.

The workers have made 8 demands to resolve the above workplace violations.

1. Foreigners should not directly manage workers.
2. Supermarkets and supermarkets should not abuse workers and force them to sign a one-time contract.
3. The employer should provide clean drinking water for workers.
4. The employer should not deduct money from the workers' salaries and collect it without their consent.
5. The employer should allow workers to enjoy their vacation days.
6. The employer should approve the appointment of workers who have completed 3 months of service.
7. The employer should not call workers to work overnight or on weekends without their consent.
8. The employer should arrange a ferry for workers who work overtime, the workers said.

[Translation via Google Translate]