By Min Ni Kyaw - Jul 14, 2025
#Letter
Sewing workers at Chi Mei Garment factory report being forced to work overtime without receiving proper pay. We are made to redo the work as unpaid if there are defective garments. These defects often result from the pressure placed on workers, leading to increased mistakes. Despite this, we had to work extra hours without overtime compensation.
We are required to do midnight (until 12:00 AM) and overnight (until 4:00 AM ) shifts. This has been going on for a long time. We have to work overnight shift on every Saturdays, and a midnight shift just recently, on July 12. The factory manager, a male, is said to be enforcing extreme work conditions.
We are treated harshly and daily wage workers are being terminated. Those who remain are then forced under pressure to complete the leftover work. Anyone speaks out or struggles are moved to another line. We are told to quit if we can't perform the tasks. Many workers have already left under such pressure.
Supervisors and line leaders are also under pressure. The factory manager demands unrealistic hourly production targets that workers cannot achieve. The factory employs about 1,000 workers, and there is no committee or union for workers to raise concerns.
There is no Workplace Coordination Committee - WCC in the factory.
We have reported the unfair conditions to the labour office, but no effective actions have been taken. We also do not have intend to damage the factory’s reputation. The factory did increase wages last month, and we are happy about that. However, the skill bonus was reduced by 10,000 kyats.
Production bonuses are also cut by 10,000 kyats depending on the level. These reductions are made inconsistently, not in line with past payments. We are given a 2,000 kyat meal allowance if we work overtime, but a single meal costs 3,000 kyats. As a result, we are sacrificing sleep and spending our own savings for food while being forced to work.
We want relevant authorities to be informed of what’s happening inside Chi Mei factory. Thank you, Myanmar Labour News.
(Chi Mei Garment factory is located in No.14 intersection, Shwepyithar Industrial Zone, Shwepyithar Township, Yangon, . The factory is Chinese citizen-owned and employs around 900 workers.)
