More than 800 people protested outside the South Korean embassy in Yangon on July 17 over the closure of a shoe factory in Hlaing Tharyar Township owned by a South Korean company.
The decision affected about 755 employees of the Master Sports factory, who say they did not receive appropriate compensation after it shut down "illegally" on June 26.
The former employees, joined by members of a township workers' union, gathered outside the shuttered factory at 8am to march the 6.2 miles (10 kilometres) to the University Avenue embassy to stage the protest.
“We protested in front of the Korean embassy because we believe the ambassador could solve the matter,” said one of the former Master Sports workers, Ma San Thidar.
The factory had been operating for just over a year, said another sacked worker, Ko Kyaw Swar.
He said workers at the factory were told earlier last month that the factory would close temporarily between June 20 and 25 because of a lack of raw materials but on June 26 they were told it would shut permanently.
Ko Kyaw Swar said the 755 workers were told they told they would receive their salaries for June as well as compensation.
The state-controlled New Light of Myanmar reported on July 7 that after arbitration among the factory's owners, its employees and the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security on June 30, Master Sports had agreed to pay the June salary and compensation by July 10.
The protesting workers said that on July 12 and 13 they were offered their June salaries but no compensation, an offer most of them rejected because it was contrary to the arbitration agreement.
In its July 7 report, the New Light of Myanmar quoted a ministry official as saying it was prepared to sell the factory to ensure the workers received the money due to them.
Daw Mar Mar Oo, head of labour affairs for the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society activist group joined the protesters and told Mizzima she believed the manner in which the factory closure occurred to be against Myanmar Labour Law.
NLM quoted a ministry official as saying “we have urged the factory’s responsible personnel to bring factory owner Mr In Ho Bang back to Myanmar. If the factory can’t pay the salaries, we will sell the properties of the factory to raise the required money for the workers.”
A senior employee at the Master Shoe factory would have earned between K140,000 to K180,000 (US$144 - $185) a month, a junior employee would have earned K70,000 ($72).
