Ninety-one Myanmar workers have returned home from Jordan after paying compensation to the boss of their garment factory for the breach of job contracts, the returnees say.
They arrived back in Myanmar on Friday after paying $300 each to the factory employer.
More than 1300 Myanmar workers at a garment factory owned by Jordan’s Century Miracle Apparel had been protesting from February 14 to March 25 against unhealthy and exploitative working conditions, including poor salary and racial oppression.
One returnee, Thet Nwe Soe Kyaw, said: "The employer first asked for $400 from each employee. We got $400 each for security welfare and bonus. But we came home with only a hundred dollars in hand because we had to pay him $300 in compensation."
According to her, some Myanmar workers still remain in Jordan as they have difficulty with their financial problems while some others are waiting for their contract periods to complete.
Four Myanmar women were wounded in a fight among Myanmar workers on March 2 after the Myanmar workers staged protests at the factory, which is owned by a Chinese. The fighting broke out as the owner reportedly hired Jordanian co-workers to physically attack the Myanmar workers.
Thet Nwe Soe Kyaw also said: "The job agency in Myanmar first told us that we would be paid $500 a month in Jordan. But actually, we got $158 a month, which only totals about 120,000 in Myanmar kyats. We waited for six months to have a pay rise but the employer didn't. Apart from the poor salary, meals they provided were awful so we had to arrange our meals out of our own pockets. Myanmar's ministry of labour said it would send two officials to Jordan to solve the problem. But they didn't show up yet."
According to the returnees from Jordan, the factory owner did not comply with the three points the protestors demanded – pay rise, no racial oppression and providing of healthy meals.
As Myanmar does not have an embassy in Jordan, it is solving the problem through the embassy in Israel.
The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security earlier this month said they would send officials who have experienced in labor affairs and settle the dispute as soon as possible.
Credit - elevenmyanmar.com
