More than 400 workers have been fired from the Fitex (Myanmar) Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd, which is located in the Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thayar Township, Yangon Region, according to the Federation of General Workers Myanmar (FGWM).
The factory is primarily focused on producing the AMISU brand, and is owned by a Chinese company.
According to some dismissed workers, more than 400 workers will be allegedly terminated by the company in anticipation of the upcoming water festival holiday, known as Thingyan, in mid-April, as the company purportedly did not want to provide holiday pay. This is not the first instance of such action, as some workers were also reportedly dismissed shortly before the previous Thingyan holiday in April 2022.
A female garment worker from the company said in the condition of anonymity: “Some of the workers were informed to work only until 12 April. The factory did not even post a notice letter in advance. The employer did not provide transparency to the workers, and they fired more than 400 workers out of fear of having to pay Thingyan holiday wages. In the same way in 2022, the employer did not want to pay the holiday pay, so the employer fired some workers in the same way as it is now.”
The terminated workers will not receive any compensation from the factory, according to the workers. So far, Fitex Myanmar has not been held accountable for their actions.
FGWM chairperson Moe Sandar Myint told Mizzima, “There was no transparent explanation to the workers about the layoffs. On 12 April, the workers will have to quit their jobs without receiving any compensation.”
The Chinese-owned Fitex garment factory reportedly forced some workers to work overtime against their will and threatened termination for missing a single day of work. This factory has been accused of violating multiple labour rights, including mistreating workers.
Moe Sandar Myint has stated that the number of unemployed individuals in Myanmar will continue to rise due to the military dictatorship and exploitative employers, and that the main culprit behind the increase in unemployment is the junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
“Since the military coup, forming unions has been prohibited and our FGWM that supports workers has been declared an illegal association. As a result, openly addressing workers' issues has become challenging. Despite these obstacles, FGWM is doing what it can to help with labour problems. Due to the military dictatorship and exploitative employers, the unemployment rate in Myanmar will only increase.”
In 2022, the garment sector of Myanmar reportedly had the highest rate of labour rights violations at 78 per cent, followed by the food sector at 8.1 per cent.
