In a rare victory for a garment factory worker in Myanmar, the Arbitration Council of the country has ruled in favour of the Han Jen Factory worker who was recently fired for turning up late for work. Not only has the Council ordered the factory to hire the worker, Ko Ye Ko Tun, back, but has also told the company to compensate him for the loss of pay. Ye Ko Tun is, however, to be informed when he can return to work. The Arbitration Council’s decision was announced on April 1.
This worker was among 100-odd labourers who had recently been laid off by the factory, located in Shwe Pyi Thar’s industrial zone.
According to the arbitration body, the company’s decision to lay off Ye Ko Tun was in violation of the regulations, since he had not been given a warning. The council stated that during the hearing of the case, the factory authorities had submitted forged documents.
Speaking on behalf of the company, the factory’s HR manager U Khin Maung Win had reportedly said that workers were only fired when they have been late for work on as many as 19 different occasions. “We can’t accept the council’s decision. We will appeal this case at the Central arbitration council. This was a one-sided decision,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ko Kyaw Kyaw Myint, a former employee of the factory and a union chair, claimed that the factory manager has a tendency to “punish” workers for getting involved in the workers’ union. Ko Kyaw Kyaw Myint claimed that out of the 100-odd workers fired in the past one year, 34 were union members.
