REGARDING the reports of violations of the law against factory workers spreading on social networks, the Factories and General Labour Law Inspection Department has organized labour organizations and inspected whether the news is correct as per the regulations to ensure the rights of labours.

According to Myanmar Labour News on 4-5-2023, it stated that the salary of workers of Princess Power Garment Factory owned by Daw Lwin Lwin Than (Myanmar citizen) located at No 18/212 on Kanaung Minthagyi road in Shwepaukkan Industrial Zone of North Okkalapa Township of Yangon Region are cut as leave without pay if they take leave. The workers have to start to work five minutes before working hours and return home after 15 or 20 minutes of working time.

Regarding such information, the staff officers of Labour Department, Social Welfare Department, General Labour Law Inspection Department and Department of Labour Relations went to the factory and examined the 15 representatives of the labour affairs coordinating committee and two HR managers. The findings are as follows:

1. Regarding leave without pay leave when the workers take leave, the salaries are cut by if they do not submit leave forms officially, report leave via other employees, do not report on the telephone and do not have any remaining leave days.
2. The workers have to enter the factory within five minutes of working hours and go home after 15 or 20 minutes of working hours because they have to clean the sewing machines before they start to work and after the working processes. Some workers keep working on after the working hours to meet the set target.
3. For these findings, the Factories and General Labour Law Inspection Department gave a warning to follow the undermentioned facts according to the regulations on 11-5-2023 and instructed to report not later than 19-5-2023.

1. under Section 62 of the Factories Law 1951, no worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory for more than eight hours on any day.
2. according to Sections 4, 5 and 6 (a) of the 1951 Leave and Holidays Act, the employer must provide the workers who have completed a period of 12 months continuous service with respective average wages or with average salary or 10-day earned leaves, six-day causal leave and medical leave not exceeding 30 days in a year

Therefore, the department warned the Princess Power Garment Factory mentioned in Myanmar Labour News regarding the five minutes early entry and 15/20 minutes later working hours, to follow the 1951 Factories Law for the first time, and instructed it to report their work processes and the department keeps carrying out to ensure the rights of workers mentioned in the law.

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