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Tai Yi Strikers Make Pay Deal in Rangoon
Striking
workers at a Rangoon factory have reportedly struck a deal to increase their
basic wages despite bonus demands being rejected.
A
representative of factory workers in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone (3) told
The Irrawaddy that employees of the Chinese-owned Tai Yi Slipper factory have
accepted an offer of 100 kyat (US $0.12) per hour, but other demands such as
increasing bonus pay have been turned down.
A
total of 10,852 kyat ($13) will be added to the monthly income of employees,
said a female workers' representative, adding that there are 26 working days
in a month.
One
woman, who has toiled in the factory for almost 12 years, told The Irrawaddy
that she and the others “will resume their work tomorrow.”
The
strike involved some 1,800 workers and began with demands to be reimbursed
for wages deducted for an unofficial holiday to mark the Chinese New Year.
The
agreement came after 53 workers' representatives met a second time with their
employer on Wednesday afternoon. The first round of negotiations two days ago
included the employers, senior government officials and 38 workers'
representatives.
“We
arrived in front of the factory this morning and have continued the strike
since then,” said a factory employee.
“Today
there were no top authorities involved in negotiations,” said Pho Phyu, a
lawyer acting as a consultant for the workers.
But
some people disagreed with the result of the negotiations and said that they
are not really getting what they demanded.
One
worker said, “even though the hourly pay will increase, our others demands were
not met.”
Although
their hourly pay will rise from 75 to 100 kyat, the monthly bonus pay remains
the same at 6,000 kyat ($7.50).
Previously,
the employers offered an hourly pay rise from 75 to 85 kyat combined with an
increased bonus scheme from 6,000 to 7000 kyat ($8.75).
Tai
Yi workers held a walk-out last year which lasted for three days. But this
year it took nine days of strikes before an agreement was reached.
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Copyright
© 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
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No
Breakthrough in Strike Talks
Workers
at the Chinese-owned Tai Yi Slipper factory in Rangoon's Hlaing Tharyar
Industrial Zone (3) said that they have yet to reach an agreement with their
employers, despite talks on Monday that included senior government labor
officials.
Today's
talks, which come a week after workers at the Tai Yi factory went on strike
to demand wages deducted for an unofficial holiday to mark the Chinese New
Year, were the first since the labor unrest began.
The
talks brought together 38 workers' representatives, the owner of the factory
and three senior labor officials, including Chit Sein, the director general
of the Department of Labor.
As
the three sides met, some 1,800 workers continued their strike outside the
factory.
Phoe
Phyu, a lawyer who is acting as a consultant for the workers, told The
Irrawaddy
on Monday that no agreement was reached, and that there were no plans for
further negotiations.
The
workers have made 17 key demands, including an hourly pay raise from 75 kyat
to 150 kyat (US $0.09-$0.18) and an increase in the monthly bonus from 6,000
kyat ($7.50) to 8,000 kyat ($10.00).
The
employer has only agreed to pay 85 kyat ($0.11) per hour and 7,000 kyat
($8.75) for bonus pay.
“Those
wages are not enough to cover living expenses, so the workers could not
accept them,” said Phoe Phyu.
Most
of the workers are young women who say they struggle to live on the wages
they receive. One said that their peaceful strike would continue until the
factory meets their demands.
This
is not the first time that workers at the Tai Yi factory have gone on strike
to demand higher wages. A strike last year lasted three days.
According
to one leading worker, Chit Shein took part in talks on that occasion as
well, interceding on behalf of the workers. This time, however, he didn't do
anything, the worker said.
“Last
year, U Chit Shein got involved in solving the problem on the first day, but
this time he waited a week,” he added.
Meanwhile,
workers at the New Way factory who also went on strike last week have reached
an agreement with their employer and have gone back to work.
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Copyright
© 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
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Strike
Enters Fifth Day, Spreads to Other Factories
After
a full week without reaching a resolution, a strike that began on Monday at a
shoe factory in an industrial estate in eastern Rangoon has spread to two
other factories, according to labor activists.
The
strike started earlier this week after 1,800 workers at the Chinese-owned Tai
Yi Slipper factory in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone (3) demanded payment of
wages for an unofficial holiday to mark the Chinese New Year in late January.
It
has since been joined by workers from the New Way footwear factory and the
Taylar garment factory, according to Zaw Min, a workers rights activist.
Su
Su Nway, another activist who has had contact with the striking workers, said
that talks scheduled to take place today were postponed until 10 am Saturday
by the Tai Yi factory's management.
She
added that a lawyer will represent the workers during negotiations with the company.
The
workers have also been unable to speak with government authorities, said Zaw
Min.
The
factory has already posted notices offering a pay raise of 10 kyat (about US
$0.01) per hour, and a monthly bonus of 1,000 kyat ($1.25) to employees who
aren't late or absent for work.
However,
the workers angrily removed the notices before leaving the work site on
Friday.
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Copyright
© 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
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Fire Leaves More Than a Thousand Homeless |
A
midday blaze that destroyed a residential neighborhood in western Rangoon's
Hlaing Tharyar Township has left more than a thousand people homeless and
relief workers scrambling to provide emergency assistance.
According
to police officials in Hlaing Tharyar, 351 houses were destroyed when the
fire, which started around noon on Monday, spread through the congested
working-class neighborhood.
“Many
fire trucks came to put it out, but the road was too narrow for them to get
through,” said one man whose family of six was forced to flee their home
without any of their belongings.
The
total number of those left destitute by the blaze was 1,388, the police told The
Irrawaddy on Tuesday. However, some relief workers said the actual figure
was probably much higher.
With
many of the victims of the fire now sheltering in the compound of the nearby
Aung Zeya Min Monastery, local relief groups say they are concentrating on
supplying them with basic necessities.
“We
don't have enough blankets and mosquito nets,” said one woman who lost her
home.
Aung
Zaw, the deputy secretary of the local branch of the National League for
Democracy, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the party had supplied food and
clothing to around 100 households this morning.
Local
authorities said they believed that the blaze was caused by a cooking fire.
They said they have already pressed charges against the person who allegedly
started the fire, but residents said the person had already fled the area.
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Copyright
© 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
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Workers Strike over
Chinese New Year Wage Dispute
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By KHIN OO THAR / THE IRRAWADDY
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Tuesday,
February 7, 2012
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More
than a thousand workers at a Chinese-owned shoe factory in Rangoon went on
strike on Monday after they discovered that they would not be paid for an
enforced five-day break to mark the Chinese New Year.
The
strike, by workers of the Tai Yi Slipper factory in Rangoon's Hlaing Tharyar
Industrial Zone (3), continued into a second day on Tuesday, according to
lawyer and worker's rights activist Pho Phyu.
“We
are trying to find the best solution for both sides,” Myat Thin Aung, the
chairman of the Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zones, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday,
adding that officials from the Ministry of Labor are also involved in
negotiations.
The
workers, who say they should be paid for the five days of work they missed
because it was the company's decision to close for the holiday, were forced to
disperse this afternoon without achieving their aims.
According
to Pho Phyu, the workers are also angry over wages deducted for lateness caused
by ferry service delays.
In
the past two years, workers in Rangoon's industrial zones have gone on strike
on a number of occasions to protest wage deductions and poor working
conditions.
According
to Myat Thin Aung, there are more than 40,000 workers employed by a wide range
of factories at six industrial zones in Hlaing Tharyar.
Thousands Cheer Suu
Kyi on Bassein Campaign Trip
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Tuesday,
February 7, 2012
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Pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi told more than 50,000 supporters in Bassein (Pathein)
to vote for her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the April 1 by-elections
whilst on her second political campaign outing on Tuesday.
Speaking
at Koe Thein Football Stadium, Suu Kyi vowed to work for the people of Burma as
her supporters have been waiting for democracy for more than 20 years, said
Thaung Myint, the chairman of the NLD in Bassein, in the Irrawaddy Delta.
The
Nobel Laureate added that her party's decision to enter the by-election was “to
make changes in the constitution, to have the rule of law and to work for
internal peace.”
Suu
Kyi started her trip to the Irrawaddy Delta on Tuesday with thousands of
supporters, including university students and elderly people, taking to the
street where her motorcade passed in the early morning.
Local
residents in towns and villages nearby Bassein came and waited outside Koe
Thein Football Stadium in order to listen to the 66-year-old's campaign speech.
One
journalist who followed Suu Kyi's trip to Bassein said, “A lot of people waited
to cheer her. The crowd is getting bigger and bigger.” After delivering her
speech at the stadium, Suu Kyi had lunch at the Pathein Hotel and continued her
trip to Myaun-Mya, he added.
Among
those present were around 200 university students who shunned scheduled
exams in four subjects to hear her speak. on her way to Bassein,
Suu Kyi also made a short speech to her supporters in Pan Ta Naw Township and
spoke to villagers who came out to greet her on the street.
It
was the first time local people have seen the opposition icon for 23 years—her
last political campaign trip to the area was in 1989. This was also Suu Kyi's
first campaign outing of February after the cancellation of her planned visit
to Mandalay last Saturday.
Suu
Kyi has attracted large crowds wherever she has campaigned, with thousands of
supporters also turning out when she visited Dawei (Tavoy) at the end of last
month. Throngs of supporters also came out when she traveled to Pakokku, in
Magwe Division, central Burma, shortly afterwards.
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NLD
to Reopen Mandalay Offices
Despite
being forced to call off a major rally in Mandalay, the National League for
Democracy (NLD) will go ahead with plans to reopen two branch offices in
Burma's second largest city over the weekend in preparation for upcoming
by-elections, according to party sources.
Two
of the party's senior leaders, Win Tin and Ohn Kyaing, arrived in Mandalay on
Friday for a four-day visit that will include a fund-raising event and the
reopening of branch offices in two of the city's five townships, said Win Mya
Mya, the head of the NLD's organizing committee in Mandalay.
Ohn
Kyaing, who is the NLD's chief spokesperson, will contest the April 1
by-elections as the party's candidate for Mandalay's Mahaaungmye Township,
where the NLD will reopen its local branch office on Feb. 5.
Mahaaungmye
is the same constituency that Ohn Kyaing was elected to represent in 1990,
when the NLD won a landslide victory in nationwide elections that was
subsequently ignored by Burma's then ruling military council.
The
other office due to be reopened is in Chanayethazan Township, which includes
Mandalay's central commercial district.
According
to Dr Zaw Myint Maung, the party's campaign leader for Mandalay Division,
82-year-old Win Tin will attend a fund-raising event on Saturday as part of
his organizing activities in the division, where 10 of 48 seats up for grabs
on April 1 are located.
The
event, an art exhibition featuring the work of 103 artists at the Dhammathila
Hall in downtown Mandalay, will be the highlight of a weekend that was
originally supposed to include a political rally led by NLD leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.
The
rally had to be called off at the last minute because of problems finding a
suitable venue, after the managers of the Ba Htoo Football Stadium said it
could not be used to host the event. Max Myanmar, one of Burma's largest
companies, has a 20-year lease to operate the stadium.
The party tried to find other venues, but none were large enough to accommodate the expected turnout, said Ohn Kyaing, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday.
Suu
Kyi flew to Nyaung-U in Mandalay Division on Tuesday, en route to Pakokku in
Magwe Division, where she visited foreign-funded development projects in
Myaing Township.
Last
Sunday, she also traveled to Tavoy in Burma's far south, where thousands of
supporters turned out to greet her on her first major trip on the campaign
trail.
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Copyright
© 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
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