By Myo Thein - Jun 22, 2025
Workers at the Prettex Myanmar factory report that the factory has failed to pay piece rate wages for over 20 days. the factory claimed that the records were submitted to the office but no payments have been made following a breakdown in the card punching system used for tracking piece rate payments, according to reports.
“Some got paid and some don’t. They haven’t paid us since the 5th June which is the payday. They said they’d submit the list to the office, but nothing happened by the 6th. Now it’s over 20 days and we still haven’t received anything,” said one female worker.
The factory pays 57 kyats per garment, and since each worker sews between 400 to 1,000 pieces, the delay has caused financial difficulties, workers say. Additionally, though leave is granted, the factory allegedly counts those days as absentee days and stops granting ownership of sewing points.
“They count it as absent days and deduct sewing points accordingly.even if it’s sick leave. They don’t give sewing point ownership after that. The wages become very low without point ownership. We get just over 300,000 kyats with base pay only. It’s becoming hard to manage with such low income,” said another female worker.
Workers also stated they are required to work overtime until 7 PM, with no break time provided after the lunch break, leading to non-stop work throughout the day. Workers say they have continued to work until 7 PM for nearly a year now after the factory was reported for forced mid-night and all-night overtimes.
“We work until 7:30 PM from Monday to Friday and until 5 PM on Saturdays. We have to work on Sundays too if the line isn’t finished. Almost every Sunday is a workday in the finishing section. We only get to cook and eat once we get home as they don’t give us overtime break. It’s not manageable anymore. This has been going on for almost a year now,” one worker said.
Workers also reported verbal abuse from supervisors inside the factory and said the shuttle services are insufficient, exposing them to danger.
“They shout things like, ‘Are you f**ing blind? Are you f**ing deaf?’ and say, ‘Just don’t come from home if you don’t want to work.’ Even female workers have to cling to the sideboards dangerously as the shuttles aren’t enough,” they said.
Though workers know that a WCC (Workplace Coordination Committee) has been formed to report workplace issues, no public information has been shared about its members, according to workers. The lack of transparency makes it difficult to trust or report problems to the WCC, they added.
“There is a WCC, but we don’t know whether it’s official or not. They never introduced themselves to us. In other factories, they put up signboards showing who’s in the WCC. But there’s nothing here. When labour office inspectors or inspection teams come, only three members from WCC are brought forward,” a worker said.
The factory which located in Thardukan Industrial Zone, Shwepyithar Township, Yangon, employs over 500 workers. It manufacture fashion brands like Have a wonderful day and Chinese National Geography. It is understood to be a 100% foreign-invested, Chinese citizen-owned factory.
