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Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association

PO Box 37, Mae Sot, Tak 63110, Thailand Email:newdawnzaw@gmail.com

YCOWA

Date

:

9 April 2009

Information Release 1/2009

Three hundred Burmese Migrant workers in Mae Sot were laid off due to theshutdown of

Hyatt Knitwear Co, Ltd.

The employer says that he will provide last month’s salary but deduct thework permit fee from the salary. This means that the workers will have to pay the work permit fee again once they find a new job. The employer refuses to give them their work permit back and, by doing so, he is puttingthe workers in a dangerous situation.At 8 pm on the 2

nd

of April 2009, Mr Pi Som Phon, the official from thelabor protection and welfare office in Mae Sot and the employers, includingthe factory managers, had a meeting at the factory office.The following day, on the 3

rd

of April, when the workers came to the factoryin the morning, they found an announcement at the gate, saying that thefactory was closed from that day on. The owner explained that it was due tothe global financial crises, even though the workers had seen a lot of ordersinside the factory.The workers now suspect that this factory will reopen in a different name.

Background information:Hyatt Knitwear Co, Ltd

was open in 1998 by a Taiwanese man namedThura Radson. In 1999, during the economic crises, the factory closed for one month and then reopened again. This man also own two factories inBangkok,

Sunny Knitwear Co, Ltd

and

Hyatt Knitwear Co, Ltd

.

Working conditions:

The factory has 500 workers, 50 percent men and 50 percent women. Sincethe reopening of the factory all 500 workers were forced to stay in thefactory at all times. The workers start working at 6 am and finish at 9 pm.The workers are piece rate workers, which mean that they get pay for each piece of the order they finish during the workday. This is a way for theowner to avoid having to pay the minimum wage. The workers livingconditions are poor. The rooms are overcrowded, they sleep in bunk bedsand the toilets are unhygienic. A worker earns approximately 1200 Bath amonth, which is less then half of the minimum wage, according to Thailegislation. Every morning the workers have to line up to get the workingorder of the day, this mean that some workers are left without work andwithout salary. Rent and food is included in the salary, but they are only provided with rice. 300 Bath per month is deducted from the paycheck for work permit fee, leaving approximately 900 Bath. The employer keeps thework permit until the worker leaves the factory.

The Conflict

In July 2008 the factory had no orders coming in. During this period theemployer forced more workers to share each small room in their livingquarters, in order to save electricity.According to Thai law the owner has to pay 50 percent of the salary whenthere is no work at the factory, but this did not happen at this factory. Theworkers started to complain about the working conditions and turned toYCOWA for help. YCOWA facilitated trainings for the workers in labor rights, training them in how to make a complaint to their employer throughthe Thai Labor Mechanism. YCOWA also helped them to write down their demands. After the training the workers contacted the Labor ProtectionOffice, asking them to investigate the case. One of their demands was theright to the minimum wage.On the 5

th

of August 2008, an agreement was met between the workers, thefactory owner and the Labor Protection Office. Once the agreement wasreached the owner forced the workers to find somewhere else to stay,arguing that the workers could afford food and accommodation on their own.At the time there were only 300 workers left at the factory. 200 of thesedemanded the minimum wage and 100 were too afraid to take action. The200 workers that demanded a better wage were promised their paycheck.The 100 workers that didn't complain got to stay in the factory but didn'treceive the minimum wage.

The workers living outside the factory were not allowed to eat in the diningroom, they had to stay outside to have their lunch. In the mornings theowner did not open the gates to the factory until 15 minutes before workinghours started, forcing the workers to stay outside in the rain sometimes.The employer forced the workers to fill out new employment agreements inThai language, saying that they were on trial employment for 90 days,allowing the employer to lay off the worker at any time. When the workersrefused to sign the forms, the employer then tried to start arguments betweenthe inside and outside workers (those living inside and outside the factories),saying that the outside workers caused trouble.Two weeks ago, Miss Mae Tha from the Labor Protection Welfare Office inTak, came to the factory to facilitate training in labor rights, explainingabout the legal process, related to the labor rights.

Conclusion:

At the moment the workers have not yet received their salary and their work permit documents.YCOWA believes that the workers were not dismissed because of the globalfinancial crises, but because the workers called for the minimum wage andtheir labor rights to be respected.Every factory in the area hires security guards from the only securitycompany in Mae Sot. The Security Company is asking the workersquestions about who at YCOWA is providing them training in labor rightsand helping them to complain. The Security Company already knows whothis person is. They have questioned workers about him, making him feelunsafe.The workers feels threatened by the employer and are not safe. Currentlythey are staying in a safe location, but there is not enough funding to supportthem with food and rent. The workers have been blacklisted and cannot finda new job in a knitting factory, putting them in a difficult financial position.

Our demands:

•

We demand that the employer gives the employers their work permit

of 00

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