Arrested garment workers claim unfair bail standard

By Kyaw Phone Kyaw   |   Friday, 29 May 2015

Nine former garment workers who protested for a K1000 wage increase for a day in February were arrested on May 26 and are now in prison, being unable to meet bail, according to their lawyer.

The workers were unable to come up with a paper guarantee proving they had K1 million to meet bail before a 4pm deadline for May 26 imposed by the Yankin court judge, said their lawyer Ko Nay Lin Aung.

“The judge shouldn’t do that. The workers don’t know about how the paperwork works at a court,” he said.

“The judge should instead have discussed the issue on the next court appearance, as they need more time.”

“They only had a few hours to find the grant. How could they do that?”

The trial was first to take place at the Insein Township Court. There, the court decided to send them to Yankin.

The workers are being charged by Yangon Region under section 147 of the criminal code, which covers rioting. A total of 13 workers had been charged, though the two of them had not appeared, while another sent a letter of leave and another was sent to juvenile court as he is not an adult.

The workers are being charged not only under section 147, but also under section 18, which covers illegal protesting, in the Shwe Pyi Thar Township Court.

“I think they want to arrest and jail the workers, so they’ve done this intentionally,” said worker Ma Kyal Sin, a colleague of the charged workers.

Officials from the Yankin Township Court declined to comment yesterday despite repeated requests. One staff answering the phone said the judge was busy. “Please understand us, he is now handling serious cases,” she said.

Ma Kyal Sin said it is possible the case was moved to Yankin township from Insein to avoid possible protects.

A total of 158 workers have also appealed to have their jobs reinstated. A local Yangon Region arbitration board initially agreed, ordering the garment factory they worked at to rehire the 158 workers. The national-level Arbitration Council on May 28 reversed the lower court’s decision.

Ma Kyal Sin said the workers would like to have their jobs back.

“The authorities are only seeing the employer’s side. What about us? We really want our jobs back.”
 @kyawphonekyaw