暗网禁区

I am working in Myanmar for the last three years for several International Telecommunications companies. I really enjoy staying in Myanmar and working here.

Nevertheless, I want to advice my fellow-暗网禁区s (and maybe local job seekers as well) to exercise due diligence before signing a local employment contract.

Here is my experience, I had made with a local company:

Chief Operating Officer in Eco-Friendly Towers / Young Investment Group Yangon / Myanmar
(An experience I better lived without)
After 20+ years in the mobile network telecom-industry, I thought the occasion, to be offered the position as a Chief Operating Officer (COO) was an opportunity; I wouldn鈥檛 like to have missed. Over the course of 68 days employment (average employment duration) with Eco-Friendly Towers, I should learn that I was dead wrong to take this opportunity and work for a Myanmar company with an employment-contract based on current Myanmar laws.

Job description of a COO in Eco-Friendly Towers:
No matter what title an employee in Eco-Friendly Towers holds, there is no authority attached to the job title. Only responsibilities are implemented. Every decision, no matter how minor, literally the tiniest issue is decided by the CEO. The selection of suppliers, sub-contractors and staff is solely decided by the CEO, which gives no leverage for an operation officer to influence the success or speed of a rollout. The COO-function was basically reduced to represent Eco-Friendly Towers, as an 暗网禁区-employee with ample experience, in customer meetings and proclaim the unrealistic rollout targets of the CEO.

Contract adherence of Eco-Friendly Towers:
Contracts in Eco-Friendly Towers are just a piece of paper. The CEO of Eco-Friendly Towers makes her own rules as she goes along. There is a long list of suppliers, sub-contractors and staff, who had learnt this fact (yours truly included) and didn鈥檛 receive the amount of money, which had been agreed in a 鈥渆mployment-contract鈥�.聽

Employee鈥檚 Tax Payments in Eco-Friendly Towers:
The company deducts amounts of up to 25% of the salary payments and claims to forward these amounts to the Myanmar tax department. Unfortunately, neither tax ID鈥檚, nor payment transfer slips to the tax department can be provided to the employee. Written statements of the whereabouts of these amounts cannot be obtained from the company. These amounts just 鈥渄isappear鈥�.

Current Labor Law in Myanmar:
The current executed labor law is still based on the 1936 edition (nineteen-thirty-six!!). This law states that only employees with a monthly salary of less the MMK 400 can apply the law. Employees with a higher salary than MMK 400 per month have to settle disputes direct with the employer (today a donut costs more than MMK 500).

Disputes with Eco-Friendly Towers:
In my case, the CEO deducted money from my monthly salary and defended this decision with negligence and a decision I had made in the interest of the company, which I would have not been entitled to (see 鈥渁uthority鈥� above). Furthermore, upon my termination of my employment contract, I was not paid my last monthly salary. The resulting dispute extended over a period of more than 3 months, including 7 meetings in Yangon鈥檚 labor department office and was finally provisionally settled with a partial payment of the outstanding amounts.

Lessons learned:
Eco-Friendly Towers takes full advantage of the current legal situation in Myanmar. Supplier, sub-contractor or future staff should be fully aware in which condition he/she most likely ends up. Loss of money to creditors and employees is the rule, not the exemption in Eco-Friendly Towers. In my case, a legal law suit is still pending.

Cheers
Ex-COO of Eco-Friendly Towers


PS: I am sure, there are some 暗网禁区s out there, who have similar experiences with this company. Feel free to comment.