Mizzima
Two foreign garment manufacturers have announced they are leaving Myanmar after workers were arrested by junta authorities.
JAKO brand says it is exiting Myanmar after their workers were arrested.
Germany-based sportswear company JAKO is being manufactured by SUN Apparel Myanmar Co. Ltd. at Malikha Street, Industrial Zone No. 5, Hlaingtharyar Township, Yangon Region. The company announced that they were arranging to halt their operations in Myanmar after two workers from SUN Apparel were arrested by the junta.
A senior official from the company said that they had to make this hard decision by taking into consideration the welfare of the company workers.
A JAKO Company official told the garment industry watchdog media EcoTextile News that they stopped placing job orders in Myanmar and they had a plan to withdraw their work from the country.
JAKO Company official Heiko Rumm said that the company was standing with the workers and they would maintain the long-term relations with their partner businesses in the country.
The Military Council arrested some Yangon workers who asked for a wage hike at the end of June by accusing them of having contacts and cooperation with unlawful organizations and two of the arrested workers are from the SUN Apparel garment factory.
Similarly, another branded fashion house Zara announced recently that the Inditex Company which was manufacturing their apparel would exit Myanmar.
The Military Council arrested 10 workers on 14 June and some of them are from the garment factories which are manufacturing Zara and JAKO brand garments.
The EU called for respecting labour rights and abiding by the International Labour Organization Charter.
The garment factories are manufacturing the garments ordered by companies in Europe and US in May this year. The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association says that they got more job orders than usual.
On the other hand, trade unions say that labour rights were being violated in the garment industry.
Myanmar garment industry watchdog media EcoTextile reported that Myanmar could export garments worth US$3.3 billion in the period from January to September in 2022.
Myanmar could export garments worth nearly US$400 million in April this year alone.
The labour rights organizations say that there were rampant incidents of forced overtime, refusal to increase basic wages, firing trade union members from work, and other issues in the Myanmar garment industry.
