Myanmar: Garment workers report violations incl. mandatory overtime, verbal abuse & pregnancy discrimination
Summary
Date Reported: 17 Jun 2024
Location: Myanmar
Companies
Takko - Reported buyer , He MeT - Supplier , MO (part of Sonae Group) - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1000
Workers: ( 1000 - Location unknown , Clothing & textile , Gender not reported )Issues
Child labour , Mandatory overtime , Pregnancy discrimination , Wage Theft , Occupational Health & Safety , Excessive production targets , Harassment (other than sexual) , Gender Discrimination , Denial of leave , Denial of permanent contractsResponse
Response sought: Yes, by BHRRC
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: He MeT allegedly supplies to Takko and MO; Takko provided a response to a request for comment from the Resource Centre stating it does not source from the factory. MO did not respond.
Source type: News outlet
"He MeT garment factory workers abused", 17 June 2024
Workers from He MeT Company Limited garment factory...said that their rights are being violated.
The factory is...manufacturing [for] ever.me, page one and MO WOMAN brand[s]...with more than 1,000 workers.
The violations are forcing overtime on Sundays, denying overtime fees...forcing day laborers [to work at] the same [level as] other workers [but] with only 4,800 kyats, forcing more than 300 underage workers [to work at] the same [level] as adults and hiding them when inspectors came.
Workers said that the garment factory is asking for excessive outputs, verbally abusing [workers], forcing the pregnant workers to resign, not allowing social security and other benefits...
“...The super[visor] of line 4 and 6 is a man and he is verbally abusing the female excessively,” said a worker who don’t want to be named...
Workers [do] not receive the casual and medical leave that [they are] entitled to in the workplace, and even though they pays the social security fee every month, they are not entitled to it. In addition, daily allowance of 5,800 kyats and allowance bonus of 10,000 kyats are cut for taking a leave.
The workers say that the restrooms used by the more than 1,000 workers are not clean...Because there is no mechanism to resolve labor disputes in the workplace, the workers are suffering a lot.
The workers requests are
- The employer not to call overtime on Sudays
- The employer to take action on the supervisors’ verbal abuses
- The employer not to force the child labors as the same with adults
- The employer to provide maintenance of the restrooms
- The employer to allow legal leaves
- The employer to take action on the insults of the janitorial workers.
[Translation via Myanmar Labour News]