A Hong Kong-based lingerie and swimwear company abandoned its factory in Myanmar without informing hundreds of workers or paying them their salaries for last month.
Around 300 workers employed at the Myanmar Fu Fung garment factory in Pakkoku, Magway Region, began to worry about their jobs on Monday, after they did not receive their salaries on Sunday. They had always been paid on the fifth day of the month.
“We had to work last month as if nothing was wrong. Since we were not paid this month, we are now facing difficulties in our daily lives,” factory worker Sandar Aung told Eleven. “Most of us depend on these salaries. No one has taken responsibility.”
The company also reportedly dismissed 240 workers without warning on Aug. 3 and 4.
The workers demonstrated to demand their payment until 9pm on Monday, when local officials came to address the situation. But since the owners of the factory could not be found, they closed it.
Under Myanmar’s labor laws, employees must be informed 30 days in advance of their termination and be given a sound reason. They are also entitled to a severance that is commensurate to their last salary.
Pakkoku Township industrial zone administrator Myint Saung told the workers that the situation would be dealt with in accordance with the law and that the authorities would seek to alleviate their suffering.
Myanmar Fu Fung Co. Ltd. is registered by Myanmar’s Directorate of Investment and Company Administration and has an office in Insein Township, Yangon. The company’s Myanmar registration lists three directors: Li Kai Hung, Ng Kwok Ying, Yau Ka Wing Ken.
Li Kai Hung is listed as a contact person on the website of Fu Fung (Hong Kong) Garment Ltd. Coconuts has reached out to him for comment on this story.
The company’s website also says that Fu Fung (Hong Kong) Garment Ltd. has two factories in China and sells swimwear and lingerie in Sweden, Germany, Norway, France, and Australia. It does not list any factories in Myanmar.
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