“Garment workers trying to unionise fired”

More than 20 workers who were trying to establish a union within their Hlaing Tharyar township garment factory say their employment was forcibly terminated this month. They believe they were edged out in retaliation for collectively organising, but the factory managers said the layoffs were part of a downsizing effort.

Officially, the workers at Chinese-owned Unitedtex Overseas Co Ltd were dismissed because of an alleged production decline. But on January 24, former staff members told The Myanmar Times that only those who had been trying to assemble the union were canned…

The workers said they were called into a meeting, one-by-one, with the factory management. They said they were detained in the meeting room until they agreed to sign a resignation notice. Some signed, some refused, despite threats that they would not be let go until they agreed to end their employment…

According to workers, Unitedtex Overseas opened three years ago and manufactures clothes for international brands like NEXT…

The factory supervisor disputed the workers’ accounts of the dismissal.

“We aren’t firing the workers unfairly. Our factory’s production orders have decreased. The factory is new so we aren’t turning a profit. We have had to reduce the staff,” said factory supervisor Ko Aung Kyaw Min…