Safety guarantee needed for female garment workers on way to work and home

Safety guarantee needed for female garment workers on way to work and home
Safety Audit report launch on Women Factory Workers in Yangon Myanmar. Photo: Thet Ko/Mizzima

Action Labour Right member Moe Sandar Myint says it is necessary to guarantee the safety of female garment workers not only in the workplace but also on their way to work and going back home.
Moe Sandar Myint was speaking at the event “Safety Audit Report Launch on Women Garment Factory Workers” held at Summit Parkview Hotel on June 15.
ActionAid Myanmar led the survey in which 100 garment workers from 20 garment factories in Yangon took part.
“Some workers live in the nearby squatters’ quarter which is near to their work. So they don’t take car ferries. Those workers go on foot without taking car ferries. But sometimes, there are power cuts. Robberies often occur on some roads in my township Hlaing Thaya. Workers often face those experiences. So, if there are enough lampposts and there is no power cut, dangers will be reduced, I hope,” Moe Sandar Myint told Mizzima.
During the event, ActionAid Myanmar director Shihab Uddin Ahmed delivered the opening speech. 
Then ActionAid Myanmar’s Women Right Department manager Su Su Hlaing explained about her experiences in conducting the survey. 
“If any emergency arises, it is a little bit difficult for them (female garment workers) to take leave. Sometimes, they can take leave, only if the worker was many years in service in the relevant factory. We can see that if they are absent three consecutive days, they will be sacked, and they will have to apply for a job again. So, it is very difficult for us to meet those female workers,” she said. 
The report was discussed by Labour Rights Defenders and Promoters official Ei Shwe Zin Nyunt, Rakhine Ethnic Affairs Minister Zaw Aye Maung, Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs Association executive member Kyway Kyway Zin, Win Apex International Group's CEO Kyaw Win Tun, Yangon Region MP Sandar Min, 88 Generation Peace and Open Society member Jimmy, Foreign and Commonwealth Office official Edward Bell and Mizzima Media director Thin Thin Aung.