Fashion brands should urgently consider moving production out of Myanmar if they cannot guarantee protection for garment workers in the country’s factories, says a new report by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRC).

The BHRC developed a Myanmar Garment Worker Allegations Tracker, which documents more than 100 cases of labor and human rights violations involving at least 60,800 garment workers. They include 55 cases of reduced wages and wage theft; 35 cases of abusive work rates and mandatory overtime; 28 cases of gender-based violence and harassment; 15 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention of workers; and reports of seven garment workers killed by the military. There have been 31 attacks against freedom of association, with at least 55 trade union activists killed and 301 union leaders and members of the labour movement arrested.

The research also suggests a connection between some garment factories and the military. It alleges that 15 per cent of recorded abuse allegations were the result of factory-military collusion. Workers have reported that factories are working with the military to arrest union leaders.