Burmese Language
Police lurk as Rangoon strike continues
Up to 2,000 factory workers on strike in Rangoon have been told they face possible dismissal if protests over salary and working conditions do not end by the weekend.
The Tai-Yi shoe factory employees have until Sunday to return to work, but a vow to push on until their demands are met has prompted police to block roads leading to the Chinese-owned establishment in the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone.
Representatives of the owners say they will not compensate the workers for wages deducted during the five-day Chinese New Year holiday in January, which employees say they were forced to take.
After being told that the factory owners wouldn’t budge on one of their key demands, the strikers yesterday set upon their employers.
“The workers were threatened with dismissal by their employer, who called them ‘dogs that bite the hand that feeds them’,” said Su Su Nway, a prominent Burmese human rights activist who visited the protest.
“They were very disappointed with the threat and began walking out of the factory and also pelted their employer with water bottles. They are rallying in the factory building, demanding [the employers] meet their demands or if not, they will shut down the factory.”
The same factory was rocked by protests in March last year, when workers demanded an increase of their meagre salaries, which saw them being paid just $US0.70 for a 12-hour day.
The Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone in Burma’s commercial capital is no stranger to protests: prior to the March 2011 strike, workers at two other garment factories nearby, the United World factory and Oscar factory, demonstrated against poor working conditions, and netted a result after their employers agreed to improve the workplace.
Su Su Nway said Burma must move to create stronger labour rights’ organisations, with existing mechanisms inadequate at dealing with complaints. She said many so-called labour watchdogs formed by the government were corrupt.
“It is the duty [of labour organisations] to investigate problems like this, and not just to take bribes from the employers … The workers are on strike now because they couldn’t stand it anymore after so many years, yet they are very much afraid of losing their jobs and facing greater problems.”
Tags: burma, labour rights, myanmar, protest, yangon
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To Su Su Nway,
1. You should learn how free enterprise are working, while we protect worker’s right.
2.I had bad experience about employ people in Myanmar. Myanmar has rule for workers to have compensation for 3 months if they were dismissed whether they cannot perform their job or broke company rule.By this I mean that company does not have right to fire workers by any means. 3. But worker can stop employment anytime and not responsible for sudden termination from work.
4. I employed some workers and I paid them better salary than other companies, but some of them start to absent from jobs more than 7 days a month. When I employ them, I pay them package salary including weekend working compensation. I paid them about 150 to 200 USD that amount is almost twice for general workers compare to their counterparts in other companies. When I fire them based on absent from work, they report to labor department and ask for compensation.
5. I did not employ worker through labor department, but labor department ask me to pay 3 months compensation for workers. There are some workers work for companies only for compensation, they just work some months and provoke employers to fire them and ask for compensation.
6.Employment is between Employers and Employees, not with government. Government intrusion will cause foreign investment to scare to flow to Myanmar.
7. You are trying to turn Myanmar to PRC while you are trying to be act as democracy activist. Please try to change socialist mentality.
@ Employer
When in Burma you must abide by the Burmese rules. If you cannot, then pull out and take your business elsewhere.
It’s as simple as that !
This case should be handled to make a fair-win for both sides. “Negotiations Needed” + “Moving a step back each leads to a better solution”.
For workers, how is it justice for stoping work so suddenly whereas the employers can’t fire you directly. Workers must consider their employers view and thoughts. Since you are working for a business, you must contribute!
For employers, it would be better to have a calm discussion with them and maybe you could reconsider the requests made by the employees.
Solutions will never come if your purpose is not to find one, but just to Argue!
From OBSERVER To employer/ers
1) First, When you are not happy with the employment policy or law (of Myanmar). You should not have started your big-profit-making business here.
2) As an employer, you can’t do everything how you want. (What makes you think right to shut or close your factory for five days)You missed the point:Employee First, Customer Second (the top American business man is treating his employee that way and claimed that it was his secret to make him successful while most of business within US are down.
3) Increasing demands is the nature of Human being: (Customer, Employer or employee are all the same)you must understand that nature.
4) Being the employer (owner of free-enterprise)should be well educated to respect the art of negotiation and be able to get over such complaints.
5) Just do not point out ones’ weakness. Employer and employee are depending each other. So just love your employee as an employer and at the same time educate them, treat them with respect.
6) The Governors are trying to the best of their abilities to make internationally respected Labor law,may be foreign investment protection law and soon will be issued.