During April 2025, the majority of labour rights violations were linked to employers requiring workers to work on public holidays without proper compensation or rest days. These substitute workdays led to wage losses due to unpaid overtime and increased physical strain on workers who were denied nationally recognized rest days.

This finding comes as part of Myanmar Labour News’ monthly monitoring and publication efforts, which have now continued for over a year. In addition to monthly reports, four annual reports have been released.

The main goal of this monitoring is to highlight violations of labour rights, human rights, and legal standards, especially among workers involved in international supply chains. The reports aim to assess whether wages, working hours, and legal entitlements meet established standards and to identify the most frequent types of violations.

The objective is also to encourage reforms in the labour sector by providing actionable data to relevant stakeholders—such as responsible authorities, trade unions, labour federations, and workers themselves—so they can advocate for better protections and working conditions.

The reported stories from Myanmar Labour News include firsthand accounts from workers, as well as cases in which labour unions or federations had to intervene to assist workers facing mistreatment.

The monitoring focuses on nearly 30 key issues, including violations of labour law, human rights abuses, and gender-based discrimination.

In April alone, 96 news items were published on Myanmar Labour News. Among these, 33 reports were related to migrant workers abroad, while 32 were focused on domestic labour issues.

During April, labour rights violations affecting domestic workers were reported across 29 garment factories, according to Myanmar Labour News. Among them, SenYu Myanmar was featured three times while Golden Colour Fashion appeared in two reports.

a two-day work stoppage occurred in April at SenYu Myanmar garment factory, which employs around 1,000 workers.

The main demand from workers was equal pay for public holidays and regular workdays. Additional demands included wage increases and redress for other workplace grievances.

April reporting revealed that, similar to SenYu Myanmar, other factories also failed to provide equal pay for holidays and regular workdays or did not pay the announced wage rates as promised during recruitment.

Across all April reports, 23 categories of violations were identified. The most frequent were related to overtime (16 instances), illegal wage deductions (14), forced labour or coercion (12), discrimination (8), unsafe working conditions (8), verbal abuse (6), unlawful dismissals and unreasonable production quotas (5 each), employment of underage workers, violations against daily wage workers, and substitution for rest days (4 each), trade union busting, violations of social security laws, and denied demands (3 each), and bonus deductions by supervisors, physical injury in the workplace, violations against pregnant workers, and breach of EC contracts (2 each). Additionally, there were single instances of sexual harassment, denial of full break time, extended shifts beyond five consecutive hours, and broken employer commitments.

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Wage-related violations—such as failing to pay the announced wage, not providing equal pay on holidays and workdays—were categorized under illegal deductions. These also included: bonus deductions by supervisors, wage cuts for refusing overtime, wage reductions for daily workers, lack of holiday allowances, unpaid overtime compensated with substitute rest, delayed salary payments, forced donations without consent, reduced wages upon resignation, underpayment below declared amounts, wage deductions during medical recovery, no provision of transport allowances, downgraded grades due to refusal to work overtime, wage cuts for absences without officially approved leave, and intentional reduction of performance bonuses.

Six garment factories were found to have failed to pay workers the wage amounts they advertised during recruitment, according to the April report.

The violations are listed in order of frequency.

One garment worker recounted their experience:

“The protest began last December. Our department is all men. The factory recruited sewing workers through a Facebook page, advertising a daily wage of 8,800 kyats. Workers in the finishing section demanded that same rate when they saw this. So, we protested and stopped work. The factory later admitted that the advertised rate was just to attract applicants. HR came and told us directly that while 8,800 kyats was advertised, they would only pay 7,800. They said it was due to a labour shortage. They offered a higher rate just to draw people in, but never intended to pay it. We’re still stuck at 7,800 kyats,” the worker explained.

This particular case occurred at a factory located in Shwe Pyi Thar Industrial Zone, employing around 900 workers. The worker also expressed skepticism over claims that some factories now pay around 10,000 kyats per day, and urged closer scrutiny, especially on whether public holidays are compensated at standard wage rates.

According to the 1951 Leave and Holidays Act, employers are legally obligated to provide paid rest days. Specifically, Section 3(4) under the “Public Holidays” chapter states:

“Employer shall provide at least one paid rest day per week to workers, either in the form of paid wages or fixed salaries.”

Workers at SenYu Myanmar garment factory, were paid only 6,800 kyats per day during public holidays, while receiving 8,800 kyats on regular working days. This wage disparity led to a two-day work stoppage in April, during which workers demanded equal pay for holiday and regular workdays. The employer eventually agreed to the equal wage request alongside six other demands.

Out of the 29 factories monitored in April, 14 were found to be involved in illegal wage deductions—accounting for nearly 50% of all reported cases—indicating a widespread issue in the garment sector.

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Illegal Wage Deductions

Workers affected by these deductions said the inconsistency between expected and received wages and not getting compensated for day offs caused not only financial stress but also emotional and social distress.

“We had planned to return to our hometowns during the Thingyan holidays. The factory didn’t pay our wages on the scheduled date when we resigned. We had to wait another three to five days. It was difficult to manage accommodations and daily expenses, so I had to send my family back first. They had recalculated the daily rate from 8,800 to 6,800 kyats, and even the overtime was calculated at 6,800 when I finally received my wages,. The amount was far below what I expected,” said one worker who had returned to their hometown.

The factories identified for illegal wage deductions in April included: Great Summer (Dishang Group), He MeT Company Limited, HOPE ONE Co., Ltd, Jin Yuan (Myanmar) Garment, Mai Yi Bei Garment Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Myanmar Belle Co. Ltd, Myanmar Huasheng Kefu Fashion, Myanmar LNY CAPS Co., Ltd, Myanmar San He, S.H Co., Ltd, SDI Manufacturing Co., Ltd, W8W Beauty Salon, Yangon Global Star, and ZHEJIANG TONGLI Clothing (Myanmar).

Illegal wage deductions were the second most frequently reported violation in April. The most common violation was unlawful overtime practices, which were reported in 16 factories—accounting for over 51% of all cases tracked that month.

Overtime Violations

One of the most widespread and persistent labour rights violations faced by workers in Myanmar is excessive and unlawful overtime. Data collected over the past one and a half years shows that this issue consistently ranks among the top worker grievances.

Under Myanmar labour law, workers are entitled to specific protections regarding overtime: no worker should be compelled to work overtime without their voluntary consent; weekly overtime must not exceed 20 hours and monthly overtime must not exceed 80 hours. Employers are also obligated to secure prior consent from workers, arrange transportation just like for regular shifts, and respect the right of any worker to decline overtime without facing penalties or wage deductions. These are legal rights enshrined in the law to protect workers’ well-being.

During April, workers reported being coerced into working overtime, penalized with wage deductions if they refused, forced to work extra hours without prior notice, or denied the legally required double pay. Some received no payment at all for extra hours, while others faced threats of dismissal, lost support allowances, or were compelled to work consecutive days without proper rest. There were also inconsistencies in how overtime hours were distributed among workers.

As a result of these overtime violations, workers said they faced lost income, increased personal expenses, extended working hours that harmed their health, and overall wage losses.

The factories and companies where such violations were documented include:

Golden Colour Fashion, GTP Goldan Theparerg, HOPE ONE Co., Ltd, LC International Hotel, Mai Yi Bei Garment Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Myanmar Belle Co. Ltd, Myanmar LNY CAPS Co., Ltd, Myanmar San He, Peak Outdoor, SDI Manufacturing Co., Ltd, SUDEY Industrial Myanmar Co., Ltd, XING YUAN (Myanmar), Yangon Global Star, Yoyika Garment, ZHEJIANG TONGLI Clothing (Myanmar), and Alpine purified water factory.

Threats and Coercion

In April, all documented cases of threats and coercion in the workplace occurred in the garment sector. These violations were recorded in 12 different factories—accounting for more than one-third of all reported violations for the month.

Forms of coercion included forcing workers to do overtime against their will, threatening dismissal or wage cuts, warning that wages wouldn’t be paid for working on holidays, pressuring workers to meet high production targets, and forcing them to sign documents under duress.

Workers reported that such pressure led to significant psychological harm.

The factories where these coercive practices were reported include: Golden Colour Fashion, GTIG HUBO Co. Ltd, GTP Goldan Theparerg, HOPE ONE Co., Ltd, Myanmar Belle Co. Ltd, Myanmar Huasheng Kefu Fashion, Peak Outdoor, S.H Co., Ltd, SDI Manufacturing Co., Ltd, SUDEY Industrial Myanmar Co., Ltd, XING YUAN (Myanmar), and Yoyika Garment.

Discriminatory Practices

Discrimination within the workplace was also notably present in April, mostly in interactions between employers or management (including HR staff and supervisors) and workers. Discrimination was most frequently observed in wage allocation, entitlement distribution, unequal access to job opportunities, physical and verbal mistreatment, public shaming, coercion, and especially unfair treatment of trade union members—ranging from exclusion to targeted dismissals and verbal abuse.

Ten factories were identified as having discriminatory practices during the month, all within the garment sector. With one-third of reported violations falling under this category, it remains a significant issue. The impact of this discrimination has also led to psychological harm for many workers.

The factories where discrimination was reported are: GTIG HUBO Co., Ltd, GTP Goldan Theparerg, Guston Amava Ltd, GYSen (Myanmar), HOPE ONE Co., Ltd, Lita Myanmar, Mai Yi Bei Garment Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Myanmar Huasheng Kefu Fashion, S.H Co., Ltd, and SUDEY Industrial Myanmar Co., Ltd.

Low-Frequency but Critical Issues That Require Close Monitoring

Myanmar’s labour laws clearly outline legal working hours and rest breaks, yet many workers still do not receive full rest time and are made to work more than five consecutive hours without a break.

Breaches of employer commitments—including failure to uphold promises or agreements—were also reported. Cases of sexual harassment have surfaced, with accountability pointing directly to employers, who are responsible for management and workplace conduct.

Violations such as failure to issue EC contracts, denial or delay of Social Security Board (SSB) cards while making monthly contributions have become increasingly common. These issues also underscore the apparent lack of enforcement by the Ministry of Labour, highlighting the need for stronger regulatory oversight.

In some instances, misconduct by senior staff members led to pregnant workers suffering miscarriages, losing their health, and ultimately their jobs—clear evidence of discriminatory practices and abuse of power.

Pregnant workers continue to face discrimination, and in some factories, management behavior has directly harmed their health and job security.

In terms of occupational safety, many factories lacked preparedness for emergencies, suffered from extreme indoor heat, lacked medical facilities and trained staff, provided unsafe drinking water, had unhygienic or insecure toilets, and failed to offer adequate transportation. These conditions were present in nearly one-third of factories reported on during April.

Forced substitute workdays on public holidays, unfair production targets, violations against daily wage workers, and illegal employment of underage workers remain widespread.

Persistent issues such as verbal abuse, unlawful dismissals, and denial of legally entitled leave were also repeatedly observed, with no sign of improvement.

Although Myanmar’s labour laws include clear protections and rights for workers, these rights are often violated. Myanmar Labour News concludes that responsibility lies most heavily with those in charge of enforcing the law—employers, managers, and authorities tasked with compliance.