By Min Ni Kyaw - Aug 15, 2024

Workers from New Plus garment factory which Labor officers inspected frequently due to excessive overtime said that they are being called overtime until 9:00 p.m. every day and also on Sunday.

“We are too tired and we even don’t know what break time is. We are working from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and until 4:30 p.m. on weekends,” the workers said.

Workers said that the factory started calling overtime until 9:00 p.m. two days after the township labor officers visited the factory on July 20, 2024. They work nonstop after the lunch until the end of overtime for 6 and a half or 8 and a half hour.

“We are working 13 hours every day. We get 30 minutes lunch break and we can take a snack break at 7:00 p.m. but it is not an official break. We don’t have time to rest. We get 1,000 kyats if we work until 9:00 p.m. but it prevent us from tiredness,” a worker said.

Workers are working on every Sunday in July and also working all day on August. They also said they can’t refuse to work overtime as they are verbally abused by the leaders.

“We can’t go back if the factory said orders are important. Leaders scold us if we do. Those who live in dormitory are not convenient when they arrived back late. Shops are not open and no electricity to cook. But the factory’s problems are first and us are second. Its so tired as well,” a worker stated.

New Plus garment factory is owned by a Chinese national and located at Kyauk Sein Street, Thar Du Kan Industrial Zone, Shwe Pyi Thar Township. The factory is manufacturing Feel Sky and WOLLYTEC brand apparels with around 1,000 workers and according to the Myanmar Labour News’ data, LKM, Global Work and HEAR brands are also made in the factory.