By Myo Thein - Jun 18, 2025

Workers at Shi An Myanmar garment factory say they are being required to work daily overtime, including on Sundays and being forced to work on official public holidays.

“We can’t refuse overtime (OT) at our factory, it is not voluntary. We have to work even on Sunday and its every week,” workers said.

They report working three hours of overtime each day, and with no rest on Sundays, totaling around 100 overtime hours per month. The factory pays OT wages immediately, they added.

“We have to work even on government-designated holidays. The supervisors call us in and yell or scold us if we don’t want to and don’t sign the OT agreement. The packing department still has to work every week if the sewing line is closed. They don’t explain us when we ask about the factory’s Code of Conduct (COC). They just say, ‘Don’t sign if you don’t want to.’ But the leaders come and pressure us anyway even if we don’t sign,” said a female worker.

Workers said that they had to work overtime even on today. June 15, with no break scheduled for the public holiday either. They added that this pattern has been going on for nearly nine months, leading to a loss of their rights.

“We get only about one day off per month. We’re exhausted and can’t work swiftly eith nonstop overtime. But the manager yells when we slow down. I don’t want to we are damaged—but it’s that we don’t get rest. Some of us can’t even attend their course sessions. Working Sundays means late hours. We want our rest days to be observed as scheduled,” workers said.

Shi An Myanmar garment factory is a Chinese national-owned factory located on Kanaung Mintha Gyi Road, in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone 2, Yangon. Workers report that around 1,000 employees are currently employed at the factory.