"Towards a new normal: What must change in the Myanmar garment industry post-Corona crisis - a research into the labour conditions of two factories", 9 July 2020

... [E]ven before the Corona crisis... garment workers [faced] sub-standard labour conditions in the export-oriented garment industry in Myanmar... low wages and unlawful deductions, long working hours with excessive overtime, unpaid overtime, child labour, no employment contracts and a lack of grievance mechanisms... Things cannot go back to the way they were. Let the Corona crisis be a turning point...

39 workers of Dong Yi and Leader One garment factories were interviewed, mostly women between 18-30... Dong Yi and Leader One...produce for foreign brands, including Bestseller, C&A and Next... We sent a draft version of the report for review to both factories and all buyers... Only C&A responded and explained that both factories had been visited and audited twice within the past year and a half...C&A partially recognises the problems and risks flagged by SOMO...

[Findings include] tiresome paper work... Low wages and high hourly targets... Vague and excessive working hours... [wage] deductions... Sanctions and degrading treatment... [and] extremely low unionisation levels... [mandatory] overtime...[insufficient] hygeine...

And then the Corona crisis hit... [Some] factories reopened... many still only are operating at only half or even less than half capacity... [with] fewer hours... this means that garment workers... are suffering a major loss of income... [A]nother effect of the Corona crisis – Myanmar’s young and vulnerable trade union movement is under threat...

Structural, systemic change is needed... Brands and retailers can hardly be held accountable for not respecting labour rights on the basis of the voluntary brand labour standards that now apply... mandatory human rights due diligence should change this...