Violations of labor rights in garment industries

After the military coup, garment factories in Yangon did not pay full wages. Labor rights activists say that employers are committing significant violations of labor rights, such as exploiting overtime pay.

Most of the entrepreneurs cut the 4,800 daily wage if they cannot sew the specified amount of fabric. forced to work overtime without pay; He said that workers' rights are being violated in many ways, such as not being converted to full-time employees according to the law even though they have completed three months of service.

A woman working at a garment factory in Hlaing Tharyar Township, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told RFA that if she cannot sew the specified number of garments in her factory, she is cut from her 4,800 daily wages.

"They asked for a specification (Target). If you ask for a hundred, if you can give only fifty, There are deductions from savings. After that, if I can't give the target for two days, then I will have to pay 4800 per day (daily calculation fee) of the salary. If Target used to set one hundred garments per hour, now it's like sewing two hundred garments. I'm doing double duty.''

If the specified amount of fabric is not enough, the factory will not pay the overtime fee, in addition to the prepayment, He said that he did not arrange a delivery car.

"Workers' Minimum Wage Benefit Act; Employers are blatantly violating statutory rights to leave and working time off."

A woman who works at the Shwe Pytha Industrial Zone, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told RFA that because the entrepreneurs do not want to hire full-time employees, they renew their contracts every three months.

"According to the law, permanent employees are paid after three months of service. I don't want to pay this, so I sign a new contract after three months. If I sign a new contract, I will become a probationary employee again. Even if you lose your job during this trial period, you are not entitled to any benefits. They do this because they don't want to give them the right to enjoy anything.''

He said that as the coup d'état went on, there were more and more violations of labor rights in Yangon's industrial zones.

Ko Ne Myo, who has worked at a garment factory for more than five years, told RFA that the workers at the garment factory where she works have been forced to arrest those who demand labor rights.

"Right now, they are not comfortable. Now it's all over the place. There are some factories that coordinate with their soldiers. The Chinese paid the soldiers to run their factories. If there's a riot, I've made it so that the soldiers can be called out at once.''

After the coup d'état, the military council declared trade unions as illegal organizations and arrested some of their members.a

Ma Moes Sanda Myint, who provides support for labor affairs, said that the entrepreneurs are blatantly violating the provisions of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

"Workers' Minimum Wage Benefit Act; Employers are blatantly violating the legal rights to leave and working time off. After the coup d'état, the employers violated the rights of the workers according to the provisions of the ILO, such as freedom of association, In addition to the violations of forced labor, the right to benefits, We see many violations of human rights and violations at the highest level.''

2023 of the ILO International Labor Organization. According to a statement on August 11, after the military coup in Myanmar, 41 percent of those who were fired from their jobs have reached 41 percent, of which only 29.5 percent of workers have received compensation, and women and young people between the ages of 15 and 24 have received less compensation than men and veteran workers.

U Kyaw Ni, Deputy Minister of Labor of the National Unity Government (NUG), told RFA that they have been documenting the grievances of workers during the coup and cooperating with relevant organizations.

"Some of the complaints that came to us were forwarded to the people working on labor issues, and some were sent to the relevant countries on this side. Report to relevant organizations. Recorded. Some cases are mainly transferred to those who can handle them.''

He also said that a record has been taken of the grievances of the workers and that effective measures will be taken against the perpetrators in the future.

Regarding these issues, RFA contacted U Aung Htay Win, Director General of Labor Relations Department of the Ministry of Labor of the Military Council by telephone, but he did not receive a reply.

Although RFA contacted some of the factories by telephone to get a response from some of the factories that alleged labor rights violations, there was no response.

According to the August 2023 release of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, there are 817 member factories nationwide, of which 546 are operating. The rest of the 271 stations are said to have suspended operations.

At a seminar on labor disputes held at the Yangon Chamber of Commerce and Industry on October 14, Yangon Region Military Council Chief Minister U Soe Thein said that 150 disputes have been resolved in 44 townships, except Koko Kyun, in the past nine months.

US, Japan, South Korea hold air drills for the first time

Ankara : The United States, Japan and South Korea on Sunday held joint aerial exercises near the Korean Peninsula, the South Korean Air Force said.

This aerial exercise is the first carried out by three countries in the region.

The exercise took place on the southern Korean Peninsula, where South Korea's and Japan's air defense identification zones overlap, involving a US B-52H strategic bomber.

Apart from that, as reported by the Yonhap news agency, in the training South Korea, the US and Japan deployed a number of fighter jets.

The joint drills took place after the three countries in early October carried out maritime military intercept drills in the waters of the southern Korean Peninsula - the first in seven years.

The South Korean Air Force said in a statement that the exercise was designed to continue the defense agreement discussed at the summit of leaders of the three countries at Camp David, United States, in August this year.

Another goal, as mentioned in the statement, is to improve the three countries' capabilities in preparing to react to the increasing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.

The joint drills, according to the statement, demonstrate solidarity among the three countries and are planned to expand trilateral cooperation based on the "solid" alliance between South Korea and the US.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed anger at the ongoing cooperation between the three countries.

In September, Kim called the movement "the worst real threat."

A US B-52H officially landed at an air base in South Korea for the first time last week.

The nuclear-capable bomber arrived at the base after carrying out joint exercises with South Korean fighter jets and flying for an arms exhibition in southern Seoul.