By Ma Ma - Feb 21, 2025
Chinese national-owned Fitex (Myanmar) Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is pressuring workers to work overtime while also restricting them from informing their families about the overtime, causing difficulties for the workers, according to factory employees.
The factory is located at the intersection of U Pho Hlaing Street and U Aung Thu Street, in front of Shwe Lin Ban Hospital, Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township. It operates with nearly 800 workers.
There is no trade union within the factory, only a Workplace Coordinating Committee (WCC), and it manufacture brands such as FSBN, SMOG, AMISU, Macron, and ikka.
"The designated working hours are from 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM. However, we are required to work until 9:00 PM almost every day. The way overtime is assigned varies; some groups are divided, while others are required to stay as a whole. The factory manager forces us to work overtime without asking whether we want to or not. The factory was closed on February 12 and 13. They made us work in advance on Sunday, February 9, without consulting us to compensate for the holiday on the 13th. They close and make us work as they please. Now, we are required to work overtime until 9:00 PM or even midnight if production targets are not met. We are not allowed to call our families; our phones are confiscated when working overtime. Some parents, worried about their children, have even come to the factory. We are provided ferry transportation home, but after finishing work at 9:00 PM, we only reach home after 10:00 PM. It's already midnight by the time we eat and rest, yet we still have to go back to work on time in the morning. Leave is never granted easily if we want to take due to poor health or family matters. We have to negotiate a lot before they finally approve it," said one factory worker.
Favoritism is practiced within the factory, as those with connections—such as QC supervisors and those who bring in new hires—are promoted and given pay raises, while long-term workers are denied promotions and subjected to intense pressure.
"Regarding overtime pay, since the issue was reported in the media, wages for overtime after 7:00 PM are now being paid and cleared within a week. However, production targets are unfairly high. They demand the daily quota to be met on the same day. Overtime is required if it isn't met. Chinese supervisors directly intervene in production lines, giving orders. Supervisors and managers on the production lines abuse and mistreat us if we complain about excessive workloads. They insult and yell at us. The worst conditions are in Line 1, Line 2, and Line 3, where supervisors and leaders constantly shout and curse at workers. Every day feels like a living hell. There is never a single peaceful day at work," said another worker.
Workers have reached out to the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) for assistance in resolving these workplace issues.
The factory workers are demanding that management seek their consent before assigning overtime and allow those unwilling to work overtime to leave. They are also requesting the right to use their phones to inform their families when working overtime. Additionally, they want disciplinary action against supervisors and managers from Line 1, Line 2, and Line 3 who verbally abuse workers, as well as stricter measures to prevent such mistreatment in the future and demanding effective action against Chinese personnel directly controlling production lines and they not be allowed to exert direct authority over workers.
