By Yoon Sat - Mar 15, 2025
Workers from Hunter Textile Co., Ltd, a Chinese national-owned garment factory with seven production lines and over 700 employees, reported that they are being forced to work on substitute days in exchange for Thingyan holidays. The Federation of General Workers Myanmar (FGWM) confirmed the report.
“The manager said the factory would close for 11 days during Thingyan, and in return, we must work on two Sundays. Actually, we should only be making up for one day, but they unfairly added an extra day and are forcing us to work,” workers told FGWM.
Although the Thingyan holiday is officially designated as a 10-day public holiday, the factory extended it to 11 days. Now, in March, they are forcing workers to make up for these extra days in advance. Workers are being denied their legal entitlements, according to employees since the substitute workdays fall on official public holidays.
“We appreciate the extended holidays since this is the only time in the year when workers get a long break. But we expected to make up for just one extra day, not two. Now, we are forced to work on March 12 and March 14 as substitute workdays for Thingyan, without getting any rest,” workers said.
Employees also reported that the factory forces them to work beyond regular hours, restricts them from drinking water or taking restroom breaks, and places heavy pressure on them to meet production targets. Supervisors frequently shout at them and demand higher productivity, all while forcing them to work overtime against their will.
“There are barely any days off at this factory. Workers are exhausted. We work until 7 PM from Monday to Friday. We work until 6 PM on Saturdays. Sundays which supposed to be our day off, are used for overtime every week. We haven’t had a proper break for an entire month,” workers stated.
Hunter Textile Co., Ltd is a Chinese national-owned factory located in Industrial Zone 4, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon, on Myawaddy Min Gyi Road. The factory manufactures brands such as Essentials and OVS.
