Are Workers Receiving Full Wages or Not? (Or) Violations in 2025 March

32 factories were found to be involved in violations of labour laws and rights according to an investigation into news published on the Myanmar Labour News website in March.

The purpose of this investigation is to identify fundamental issues that cause workers to suffer and to discover possible solutions for reform. Therefore, these findings are also intended for individuals and organizations working for the benefit of labour rights.

The violations in the news were categorized into 27 types based on human rights, legal breaches, labour rights violations, labour law violations, and gender discrimination standards. Among the news published in March, four types of violations were not found.

There were 36 reports related to factories published in March. Among 33 factories, two factories were featured more than once. Those factories are Myanmar GiGi Leather Garment Factory and Sakyar Min Traditional Medicine Factory.

Workers demanded an increase in wages and entitlements the Myanmar GiGi Leather Garment Factory, while the Sakyar Min Traditional Medicine Factory was reported for sexual violations against female workers and breaches of labour law.

The types of industries involved in the news during March included fiber factories, syringe manufacturing factories, traditional medicine factories, packaging factories, wallet factories, shoe and garment factories, and raincoat factories, with garment factories having the highest number of violations.

Findings
Among the reported violations, forced overtime without consent occurred 20 times, coercion and threats 16 times, wage deductions 14 times, denial of legal entitlements 13 times, 11 factories were reported as having poor working conditions, unlawful dismissals 9 times, unfair production targets 9 times, workplace discrimination and EC contract violations 8 times each, verbal abuse, child labour, violations against daily wage workers, and forced replacement work each occurred 5 times, misleading labour inspection teams 4 times, protests and continuous five-hour work shifts 3 times each, union busting, wage deductions by supervisors, sexual harassment, violations against pregnant workers, WCC law violations, and assigning workers to unrelated jobs all occurred 2 times each, and violation of social security law was reported once.

Table 1

The most frequent violations were forced overtime without consent and wage deductions. News reports indicate that factories often exceed legal boundaries although the law includes only a few specific provisions allowing wage deductions.

Among these wage deduction cases, many involved failures to pay the full wages previously agreed upon by both parties.

There were instances of factories not paying full wages, and workers were seen posting on TikTok in April to seek assistance by mentioning the factory names.

Wage adjustments occurred in Myanmar’s garment sector in 2024. That year, the ministry instructed to increase the subsidy by 2,000 kyats instead of raising the minimum wage. However, due to rising commodity prices and increasing general expenses, workers found it difficult to make ends meet.

Additionally, threats linked to the conscription law caused many garment workers to migrate to neighboring countries, significantly impacting local labor availability.

Local garment factories attempted to attract workers by raising wages to address the workforce shortage in Myanmar’s garment industry. However, this wage increase was also challenging for the factories, leading them to categorize and raise wages in various ways.

The combination of increased support allowances and employer-provided wages did not amount to a real increase in the basic wages that workers truly needed, causing continued hardship among the workforce. One of the tangible consequences of this inconsistent wage increase emerged in March.

This occurred at Myanmar Huasheng Kefu Fashion Co., Ltd (Victory Fashion), owned by Chinese national. Workers there reported that they were shouted at if they failed to meet production targets.

The factory, located in Mya Khatter Road, Mya Sein Yaing Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, employs over 500 workers and is known as a garment factory sewing for the brand "Sinsay" without a trade union.

“A lot of unfair production targets are demanded from us. For example, on a coat line with 40 people was demand 35 coats per hour. Many workers are underage, and even when fully staffed, adult workers end up having to sew more to meet the quotas. The children cannot meet the factory’s demands. A Chinese woman personally demands the target and yells at workers in broken Burmese if we fail. The children are hired without medical clearance. They are still hired even when their age is known. As a result, we are overworked and unable to meet the quotas, and we are verbally abused at daily if we fall short,” said a factory worker.

Workers also said the wages paid did not match what was promised at the time of hiring. Though they were told that they would receive 9,000 kyats in total—comprising daily wages, entitlements, and support allowance—the factory later said they would deduct grades, showing a discrepancy. Some workers stopped working due to dissatisfaction, but returned under employer pressure.

“Workers are being called in for overtime without consent. We’re required to work until 8:30 or 9:30 p.m. even on major holidays. Refusing let to dismissal. We have been terminated for refusing overtime in the past. We aren’t even allowed to take emergency leave. The employer deducts 8,000 kyats (daily + support allowance) and 50,000 kyats in attendance bonus if a single workday is missed. Factory-provided transportation is also inadequate—there’s only one vehicle for a load that needs two, and women have to sit cramped in the back. Although we have one-year EC contracts, none of us have received a copy. The clinic lacks both medicine and a nurse. The HR staff performs nurse duties without qualification,” another factory worker stated.

Workers said this factory previously operated in Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone and re-opened under a new name in Mya Sein Yaung Industrial Zone. When the Department of Labour came for inspection due to these reports, the employer allegedly instructed trained workers on what to say during questioning.

Reported Factories

Violations are listed in order of frequency.

Violations and Factories

Among the reports published by Myanmar Labour News in March, this section highlights the top five most common violations and the related factories. The most frequent violation experienced by workers was being forced to work overtime without their consent.

Forced Overtime Without Consent

This is the most widespread violation among factories, and it infringes upon workers' rights as established under Myanmar’s labour laws. According to the Myanmar Factories Act, employers are not allowed to require workers to perform overtime without their consent, and a weekly maximum of 20 hours of overtime is permitted. Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also states that no one shall be held in forced labour.

In March, factories that required workers to perform overtime without consent were primarily garment factories, along with some fiber, syringe production, and raincoat factories.

These factories include Fitex (Myanmar) Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Beaume International Garment Mfg Limited, Dong Yu, FZ GARMENT Co., Ltd, Golden Storage Eagle (PVC Door Joy Fiber Glasses), GTIG Easter Garment, HUNTER TEXTILE Co., Ltd, JinKai Manufacturing (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, LITA MYANMAR Co., Ltd, Myanmar Fala Fala Clothing Co., Ltd, Myanmar Huasheng Kefu Fashion Co., Ltd (Victory Fashion), Myanmar Jick Young, Myanto Industrial Co., Ltd, Preclo Myanmar Co., Ltd, Prettex Myanmar, SM Myanmar Garment, Sunme (Myanmar) Industrial Ltd, XING YUAN (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, Yuan Hong Garment Co., Ltd, and Myanmar Shuang Long.

As a result of being forced to work overtime without consent, workers have faced issues such as not receiving overtime wages, threats related to job security, fear due to lack of safety guarantees, difficulties in daily living (including eating, sleeping, and rest), unpaid wages, lack of factory-provided transportation, increased expenses, physical exhaustion from excessive hours, threats of dismissal, and insufficient rest periods.

Coercion and Threats

In March, 16 factories were reported for coercing and threatening workers. These violations were most frequently seen in garment factories, followed by packaging and raincoat factories.

Disputes arose between factory workers and employers during a long holiday intended for government staff declared by the military council. The Ministry of Labour did not issue any clarifications regarding the holiday, which allowed some factory owners to exploit the situation.

Workers were required to work during the holidays for regular pay or in exchange for days off, instead of benefiting from the extended break, and were subjected to threats and pressure, resulting in additional hardship.

Forms of coercion and threats included warnings of dismissal, threats to reduce legal entitlements, biased treatment, verbal abuse, and intimidation through security agencies.

Factories reported for coercion and threats included Dishang Fashion (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, Dong Yu, Fitex (Myanmar) Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Fook Hing Paper Packaging, HUNTER TEXTILE Co., Ltd, Myanmar Fala Fala Clothing Co., Ltd, Myanmar Huasheng Kefu Fashion Co., Ltd (Victory Fashion), Myanto Industrial Co., Ltd, Peak Outdoor (Yangon) Co., Ltd, Preclo Myanmar Co., Ltd, Prettex Myanmar, Sanyuan (Myanmar) Apparel Manufacturing Co., Ltd, SDI Manufacturing Co., Ltd, XING YUAN (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, Yuan Hong Garment Co., Ltd, and Myanmar Shuang Long raincoat factory.

Wage Deductions

Employers are not permitted to deduct wages from workers under Myanmar labour law. However, deductions of wages and entitlements are still occurring in factories.

In March, wage deductions included cutting monthly wages, not providing the government-mandated support allowance, failure to pay the full agreed wage, penalizing workers without leave by deducting daily wages and fines, not paying overtime, deducting wages for defective products, and forcibly collecting money for factory events and social occasions.

A total of 14 factories were involved in such wage deductions, which included garment factories, packaging factories, and raincoat factories. These factories were Fook Hing Paper Packaging, FZ GARMENT Co., Ltd, GTIG Easter Garment, JinKai Manufacturing (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, LITA MYANMAR Co., Ltd, Myanmar Huasheng Kefu Fashion Co., Ltd (Victory Fashion), Myanto Industrial Co., Ltd, Preclo Myanmar Co., Ltd, SDI Manufacturing Co., Ltd, SM Myanmar Garment, Universal Apparel Co., Ltd, XING YUAN (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, Yuan Hong Garment Co., Ltd, and Myanmar Shuang Long raincoat factory.

Denial of Legal Leave Entitlements

Myanmar labour law clearly defines the types of leave workers are entitled to, and denial of these rights has become one of the most common violations. The law includes provisions for annual leave and social security-related leave, yet most factories continue to reject these entitlements. Consequently, workers who miss days are penalized with wage deductions and, in some cases, termination after three absences. Workers also reported being denied long service leave.

Many workers are denied access to medical leave and maternity leave although they contribute monthly to the Social Security Fund.

In March, 13 factories were reported to have denied leave entitlements. Most were garment factories, with one packaging factory included. These factories were Fook Hing Paper Packaging, FZ GARMENT Co., Ltd, He MeT Company Limited, JinKai Manufacturing (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, LITA MYANMAR Co., Ltd, Myanmar Huasheng Kefu Fashion Co., Ltd (Victory Fashion), Myanto Industrial Co., Ltd, Peak Outdoor (Yangon) Co., Ltd, Preclo Myanmar Co., Ltd, SDI Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Sunme (Myanmar) Industrial Ltd, XING YUAN (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, and Yuan Hong Garment Co., Ltd.

Poor Working Conditions

The 1951 Factories Act outlines necessary conditions for a safe and healthy working environment. Chapter 3, which addresses health, mandates cleanliness, ventilation and temperature control, dust and vapor management, humidity, prevention of overcrowding, lighting, drinking water, sanitary toilets, and waste disposal systems. Transport-related provisions are included in EC contracts. However, workers are suffering as a result due to non-compliance by many factories.

Factories reported for poor working conditions in March included Fook Hing Paper Packaging, FZ GARMENT Co., Ltd, He MeT Company Limited, Myanmar Fala Fala Clothing Co., Ltd, Myanmar Huasheng Kefu Fashion Co., Ltd (Victory Fashion), Preclo Myanmar Co., Ltd, SDI Manufacturing Co., Ltd, SM Myanmar Garment, Sunme (Myanmar) Industrial Ltd, XING YUAN (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, and Yuan Hong Garment Co., Ltd.

Workers at these factories reported the absence of clinics and medical staff, lack of medicine, difficulty accessing treatment, insufficient or absent transport, unsanitary toilets, unsafe environments, poor quality drinking water, and unhygienic conditions.

Notable Issues in March

Among the reports published in March, several notable violations stood out, including work done in lieu of holidays, unlawful dismissals, protests and demands, continuous work exceeding five hours, sexual harassment, and being assigned to unrelated work.

Factory workers were not only denied rest days but also faced wage reductions during irregular holidays, leading to further hardship. The rules were often inconsistent with the law athough employers claimed dismissals were due to rule violations, resulting in illegal terminations.

Ongoing demands for wage increases in the workplace indicate that many workers still do not receive fair and updated wages in line with current living costs.

Continuous work for more than five hours without a break continues to be reported, with some factories appearing multiple times in the news without making any corrective changes.

Sexual violations occurred in unexpected contexts, and rather than isolated incidents, they affected multiple workers. Many workers experienced further threats and suffering due to the lack of enforcement and accountability.

Myanmar Labour News will continue to monitor and report these worker-related violations in future monthly reports. It is hoped that all those involved in the labour sector will make use of these findings.

Written by – Min Nyi Kyaw
Edited by – Sulatt Phyu
Design – Kyaw Gyi

Contributing Writers
– Sulatt Phyu
– Min Nyi Kyaw
– Ma Ma
– Yoon Sat

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Myanmar Labour Society
Research Team