"Xiang Rong Manager Threatens Workers with Military and Police"

The workers said that the manager of the Xaing Rong factory threatened to arrest those who made the demands at the factory by calling the military and police. The workers said this while demanding a 1,000 kyat allowance at the Xaing Rong (XR Sports Myanmar Co.,Ltd) factory on July 19.

“The demand for a 1,000 kyat allowance is not to increase the 1,000 kyat allowance, but to the auxiliary workers and those who sew small machines in the factory, they will only pay 6,500 kyat. The workers who own large machines will only pay 7,200 kyat instead of the original 7,000 kyat. The workers want the full 1 kyat increase,” he said.

The factory is a backpack sewing factory, so the workers who sew the big machines have to work harder, so they were previously paid 7,000 kyats per day. According to the ministry’s statement, the workers have been demanding a 1,000 kyat increase starting this August.

During the protest, the factory manager threatened to call the military and police to arrest them, but the workers stopped their demands. In addition, some labor officials came to inspect the factory on August 16 because of excessive overtime, but no action was taken.

The workers said that they were called to work overtime twice in August and had to work on Sundays. In addition, the workers said that their legal rights were being violated because if they took more than five days of leave, they would be recalculated as new seniority. “If they are recalculated, they will not be able to get medical leave or casual leave,” they said.

In addition, the factory’s working hours are from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm, so workers have to work for 6 hours straight after their lunch break. The workers also said that the factory has strict rules, including the issue of going to work.

“We are forced to work for 6 hours straight. We are not given food. If you go out to buy food, you have to give three warnings and then a fine. If you go to the toilet without a card, we will take this action. This is not fair. It is as if we don’t want the workers to go to the toilet.”

Myanmar Labour News has also obtained some photos of the unsafe and dirty toilets inside the XR Sports Myanmar Co.,Ltd factory. In addition, the workers said that the garbage dump near the factory entrance is close to the workers’ eating area, which has not been thrown out for a long time and is dirty and smells bad.

The XR Sports Myanmar Co., Ltd factory is located in Shwe Lin Baan Industrial Zone... . Around 500 workers in the factory make backpacks under brands such as Sakura and Olympia.

[Translation via Google Translate]