Almost furniture and lacquer factories in Three Pagoda Pass closed down after the order

Almost furniture and lacquer factories in Three Pagoda Pass closed down after the order

Independent Mon News Agency

July 14, 2004

Almost furniture and lacquer factories are ordered to close down after the government rigidly pressure them to make logging permission although the leaders of Furniture Factory Association compromises with SPDC authorities in Three Pagoda Pass town to reduce tax for permission, accordingly to a member of the Association.

“The authorities want us to pay for the logs that we use in the factories as concession or permission cost again. But we don’t want to pay because we bought the logs that already paid tax for their concessions,” said Mr. Nai Tin Win, a Furniture Factory Association member.

“We believed we should not pay because we do not use the logs that are not paid for the concessions. If the authorities pressured on it, we will need to close down all of our factories because we have not so much made profit. Now we already negotiated to the authorities that we cannot pay additional cost. But the authorities continue pressuring and so that we close all factories down,” Mr. Win added.

“Now we still continue negotiating with the authorities and, they promised they will give official reply on Monday next week,” Nai explained.

In Three Pagoda Pass border town , more than two hundreds furniture and lacquer factories operating and they provide employment for the local people and migrant workers from Mon State, Karen State and other parts of Burma. The people are much relying on this employment, according to the association members.

“Three Pagoda Pass is quiet, it is not crowded like yesterday,” said Mr. Maung Htwe, motorcycle taxi driver.

“Since yesterday I lost customers especially furniture facotries’ worker and furniture purchasers. Now I earn too little and it is not enough to pay my motorcycle owner for renting cost,” Mr. Htwe added.

“There are more than a thousand furniture and lacquer factory workers in Three Pagoda Pass. At least it has about 6 workers in a factory,” said Mr. Win who has 10 workers in his factory.

He added, all of the factory workers have to stop their jobs and if the authorities continue pressuring on the factory owners, these workers will be unemployed because no factory owner can operate their factories with high tax and a few profit.

“At least we have profit 700 Baht per day in a factory that have 10 workers after we paid for all costs including for raw materials,” said Mr. U Khaing Tun, a lacquer factory owner.

“We can polish four pairs of the lacquered chair in a day. We earn more than 1000 Baht. But sometime we earn only 300 Baht as profit,” U Khaing added.

In Three Pagoda Pass, most of logging businesses are illegally and the people have involved in it about three decades, according to the logging businessman.

Recently only a logging businesswoman Ms. Daw Saw Khin who want to monopolize the logging, furniture and lacquer business had paid huge amount of tax to the military government, according to the furniture association members.

According to a member, on the current case many factory owners believed that the businesswoman bribed the authorities and forcing the factory owners to have permission. After the authorities get permission and registration of all factories in the city, it is easier for her to sell her logs with the price she set.

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