By Min Ni Kyaw - Mar 31, 2025
Workers said that Sanyuan (Myanmar) Apparel Manufacturing Co., Ltd garment factory threatened them with dismissal after issuing only two warning letters instead of the three required under the employment contract (EC).
"They don’t give three warnings if someone eats snack or is seen with lipstick. They just say it’s the second time and make you sign. Then they say next time it’ll be the final warning and threaten you. As far as we know, dismissal should only happen after three warnings. Now the factory says they’ll make work position changes. But they don’t ask for workers’ consent," the workers said.
It is also reported that the factory currently has 10 production lines and is recruiting to expand two more lines. Workers expressed concern that the factory plans to assign assistant workers and staff from other departments to the new lines.
"Each line has 45 people, and with two more lines, there will be 12 lines in total. For the two new lines, they will fill them with workers from other departments. They’re already collecting names. But they haven’t asked if the workers want to change jobs or not. Assistant workers must be trained to operate sewing machines. There are also male workers. They actually don’t want to sew, which is why they were working in other departments," said one worker.
Workers said that an EC contract was signed between the factory and the workers, and that the type of job the workers are supposed to do is clearly stated in the contract. One worker said that planning to transfer them to other departments without their consent is a breach of the EC contract.
"I wasn’t hired as a sewing stuff. The department and position are written in the EC contract. Now they’re collecting names. It’s not in line with the EC if it’s done forcefully. We’ll have to think about what to do. WCC can’t negotiate. The manager threatens WCC and union members," said a worker.
Workers said the factory manager, claiming to be ex-military, frequently threatens to call the police or summon them to the office, and is now also threatening to make workers sign warning letters for taking water breaks as Thingyan holiday approaches.
"If they ask for 20 pieces today, then they ask 30 or 40 the next day. They force us excessive work. Even if there are 20 or 30 workers, the target is the same. So, one worker has to sew two or three points alone. We’re not allowed to go to the restroom or drink water," the workers said.
Sanyuan (Myanmar) Apparel Manufacturing Co., Ltd is located on Ayeyarwaddy Road, Shwe Than Lwin Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon, and is known to be Chinese national-owned. Workers said that the company operates two factories with over 1,000 workers, and the current factory is Factory 1 (the old factory). They added that around 700 workers are employed at this Factory 1 and are manufacturing the LC Waikiki brand.
