More than 200 garment workers in Yangon, the business capital of Myanmar, marked the seventh day of strike yesterday. The workers are demanding full wage for the month of November, after the owner of the Hteik Tan Myanmar Garment Manufacturing unit withheld half of their pay for failing to meet manufacturing targets.
The protesting crowd comprises more than two-thirds of the labourers of the Hteik Tan Myanmar Garment Manufacturing unit. They have been protesting at the entrance of the Zone No. 4 of Yangon’s Hlaingthayar Industrial Park, since December 7.
Moe Sanda Myint, one of the employees at the unit stated that the manufacturing unit proprietor paid them for less than 15 days for November, though they laboured for the complete month. Although the administration had promised to carry talks with the employees, however they are reluctant to pay the labourers their full wage.
Myint added, “They accused us for failing to work as expected. However as we laboured for the whole month, we’ll proceed with our demand for full wage in discussions with the manufacturing unit’s proprietor, the Federal Government and the Employee’s Union.”
Right from the time the strike started workers were barred from using the manufacturing unit’s ferry and dormitory.
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Htet Thu Aung, Employee’s Union secretary, who was fired from the company stated that around one hundred workers have also gone to meet Thein Sein, President, Myanmar to file a grievance towards the proprietor of their manufacturing unit for “violating employee’s legal guidelines, but they were stopped by the authorities”.
