By Thar Gyi - Jun 26, 2025
Workers at Dong Yu Garment III Co., Ltd said the factory selected its own representatives for the Workplace Coordination Committee (WCC) and forced workers to vote for them. They also told the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) that the voting process was conducted back in May.
“We voted in May. We didn’t freely choose the WCC representatives. The employer had already selected them. We were forced to vote for those selected,” the workers said.
Workers also said the factory knew when inspection teams were coming in advance, and clerks were trained beforehand on how to respond to questions from the inspectors.
“They made the clerks say that everything in the workplace was fine. The clerks were trained in advance. Only the trained clerks were allowed to speak when the inspectors came. Workers weren’t allowed to speak. We didn’t get the chance to tell the truth. The violations haven’t changed and it continue as before,” they said.
Workers said the factory imposed high production targets, and the targets were raised again when those were met. If targets weren’t met, they were yelled at and verbally abused by supervisors and line leaders.
“We’re made to work overtime until 11 p.m. but the pay is low. Skill-based bonuses don’t go to the really skilled workers. Only those close to the supervisors and line leaders get the bonuses. There’s discrimination among workers,” they said.
They also said that workers were denied legally entitled leave and that absences were treated as missed days, with deductions of 13,000 kyats daily wage and 40,000 kyats from attendance bonus. In addition, the factory pays only 2,000 kyats for overtime, causing workers to suffer financially.
“It’s hard to get gate passes at the factory. Sewing workers are forced to fetch boiler wood. Drinking water is also insufficient. It smells bad and is not clean. It’s affecting workers’ health,” they said.
Dong Yu Garment III Co., Ltd is located on Mya Sabal Road, Mya Sein Yaung Industrial Zone, Hlaingtharya Township, Yangon. The factory employs over 800 workers and is owned by a Chinese citizen, manufacturing the Workman COLOURS brand.
