Garment workers to return to work after dispute resolution 

01 November 2018
Garment workers to return to work after dispute resolution 
Workers from Fu Yuen Garment factory shout slogans in front of a gate of Yangon Regional Government Office as they set a protest camp to seek the help of government for labor rights, Yangon, Myanmar, 29 October 2018. Photo: Lynn Bo Bo/EPA

More than 100 Myanmar garment workers will return to work next week after the management of a Chinese-owned textile factory agreed to rehire 30 employees whose termination sparked a months-long strike, RFA reported.

The 30 workers from the Fu Yuen Garment Company Ltd. in Yangon’s Dagon Seikkan township were sacked on Aug. 20 after demanding better work conditions and an end to mistreatment by factory owners, prompting others to establish a protest camp outside the facility the following day.

On Oct. 15, striking workers clashed with thugs hired by the factory, who attacked them with iron bars, leaving 25 laborers injured, and residents have demanded that police act against those responsible. Two days later, authorities arrested two student union leaders after residents supporting the strikers fought with people still working at the factory.

The owner of the factory and striking workers signed an agreement to rehire the 30 workers the RFA report said.