By Hsu Latt Phyu - Jun 20, 2025
Workers from Xin Shun Fashion Myanmar Co., Ltd, a garment factory located near the fire station roundabout on Sayar Shan Road in Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Tharyar Township reported that they are being subjected to extreme pressure to work overtime beyond legal limits.
The factory, owned by Chinese citizen, currently operates with around 100 workers and has been open for only about three months, according to reports.
“We’re made to work overtime almost every night—either overnight or late-night shifts. Sometimes they trick us: for example, if a worker does an overnight shift today, they say they’ll let them off at 4 p.m. the next day, but then still require evening overtime,” said a worker.
Regular working hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with additional overtime extending until 11:00 p.m., they added.
In addition to regular hours and overtime, workers are required to do overnight shifts from Monday to Friday, and are also pressured to work overtime on Saturdays and Sundays without any rest, the worker said.
“We get treated unfairly and face discrimination if we refuse the night or overnight shifts called by management. The Chinese managers say not to come to work the next day if we don’t work overtime. The factory has only been operating for about three months,” a worker said.
“Sometimes we don’t get ferry transportation if we leave at the end of our shift without working overtime. Those who work overtime also have to sleep at the factory after overnight shifts. Phones are lost often, and when we report it management just says we shouldn’t sleep while holding the phone in our hand—there’s no accountability,” the worker added.
Workers also claimed that the agreed-upon grade-based bonuses were not payed at the time of employment, and wages are often reduced at the time of payment. Some workers who were promised severance pay were instead paid only their base daily wage.
“They demand excessive production targets. Each sewing line has about 30 workers and we are required to produce 30 pieces of outerwear per hour. We are forced to work overtime to make up for it if we don’t meet the target. This kind of relentless overtime, both day and night, including consecutive days, is exhausting workers, and many are quitting. Now there aren’t enough sewing workers, which is causing more production issues,” the worker continued.
Due to these violations and harsh working conditions, workers have filed a formal complaint with the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM), requesting assistance.
Workers have submitted the following demands:
- That employers only set realistic production targets that workers can achieve.
- That the workplace be managed to maintain reasonable temperatures
- That foreign (Chinese) managers stop threatening workers with job loss when they refuse to do overtime.
- That forced overtime—including late night, overnight, and Sunday shifts—be ceased, and that workers are not pressured or coerced if they refuse to work overtime.
- That the company take responsibility if workers' phones are lost in the workplace due to excessive overtime demands.
