"WHN Myanmar forced to work on weekends"

In addition to working overtime every day at the WHN Myanmar garment factory in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone 2, workers said they were forced to work all four Sundays in July.

“I had to work all four Sundays in July. I had to work at midnight (12 midnight) every other day. I was told to take two days off. I was threatened if I didn’t take the day off.”

There were 6 days off in July, including 2 public holidays and 4 weekends. The factory closed 2 weekdays and 2 public holidays from the holiday, making a total of 4 days.

“I didn’t have any Sundays off in July. I had to work 2 days instead of a day, which were Sundays. I only got OT pay on July 7 and 21. Sundays were always a day off. I had to do housework and health care on that day. "When I work overtime, I can't be with my family or see a doctor," said the workers of WHN Myanmar.

The factory used holidays to force them to work, but it caused social and health problems for the workers. In addition, the workers said that in July, the factory forced them to work overnight.

"They forced them to work overnight on the lines that handle large quantities of products. They can't work overtime at the factory. If they don't work, they have to go to the office. If they don't work overtime, the supervisors are threatening them, saying that they will be fined and their regular wages will be cut."

The minimum wage for factory workers is 40,000 to 100,000 kyats, and the regular wage is 50,000 kyats, so they have to work despite health problems. The workers also said that whenever they have to work overtime, the factory's shuttle buses come to pick them up at 4 am.

“The factory shuts down after 12 hours of work. I have to sleep after getting bitten by mosquitoes in the factory. Then I have to catch a ferry at 4am, cook and get ready to go back to work at 8am. There is no time to sleep,” he said.

In additon, they have to work overtime from lunch until 7:30pm every day, so they have to work 7 hours a day without a break. In addition, the factory workers continue to use unsanitary toilets.

The toilets were cleaned on the same day that some labor officials visited the WHM Myanmar garment factory in May, but the workers said that they have not been cleaned on the following days. After the factory was inspected, they were forced to work overtime on Sundays.

According to the latest information available to Myanmar Labour News, the WHM Myanmar garment factory is located at Saya San Road, Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone 2, Yangon ... It is known that over 300 workers are engaged in sewing the brands OVS, based in Italy, and House (Sinsay), based in Poland.

[Translation via Google Translate]