"Workers say they are being searched all over their bodies and subjected to workplace abuses", 19 August 2024

Workers say they are being searched all over their bodies at the Tianjin Fashion Milestone Garment factory, located on Seikkantha Road, Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Tharyar Township, Yangon Region, when they arrive at work and when they leave.

They say they are being searched from head to toe by security guards both on their way to work and on their way back.

“I don’t know if I am a worker or a prisoner,” said a female worker.

The factory...employs more than 1,500 workers and produces jackets and coats under the brands VERO MODA, LCWAIKIKI CLASSIC, and LCW VISION...

The worker said that the violations have been going on since the military coup, and that despite complaints, no changes have been made.

"If someone dares to speak up in the factory, they are watched and fired," the worker said.

Although there is a contract between the two parties regarding employment, the employer unilaterally issues rules and imposes pressure on them to comply...

The working hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday to Saturday, and the work is 12 hours a day. The lunch break is only 30 minutes in the afternoon, he said.

In addition, they are demanding excessive [targets]...

"...If the [targets] are not met, the line manager, Daw Mya Mya Htwe, will curse them out....the supervisors only know how to curse, pressure them, and make them suffer," said the worker, who did not want to be named.

They have to work 6 days a week, and they are not given a day off, including Sunday, which is a holiday, so they have to work without a day off for a month.

"There are no days off at work. Even if I want to go back because I am sick, I have to continue working even if I am sick because I am not given a gate pass."...

The demands for solutions are

1. The employer should only ask for records that the workers can maintain.
2. The employer should not ask for records by cursing or speaking rudely to the workers at the superstores and supermarkets.
3. The employer should not fire the workers out of anger.
4. The employer should not issue unilateral rules and take action against the workers.
5. The employer should not make arrangements for the ferry cars to wait when the workers are released from work.
6. The employer is reportedly requesting that the security guards not check the workers at various points when they enter the factory.

[Translation via Google Translate]