By Editor - Jun 05, 2025

Workers at SPRING RIVER KNITTING (MYANMAR), a wool garment factory, told the Federation of General Workers Myanmar (FGWM) that factory management is threatening their leaders calling for wage increases with arrest by the military.

"The factory manager said that if leaders continued protesting and refused the wages offered by the factory, the township fire department head would call the military to have them arrested," workers reported.

This threat reportedly occurred on June 4, when officials from the fire department visited the factory for inspection and witnessed the workers protesting.

Workers at SPRING RIVER KNITTING (MYANMAR) began their wage demands on June 2. They are on strike inside the factory compound, demanding 10,000 kyats for daily wages, 60,000 kyats for attendance bonus, and 2,000 kyats per hour for overtime.

On June 3, the factory management refused the demand for 10,000 kyats and offered 8,800 kyats for daily wages and the same attendance bonus as before. Workers rejected the offer and continued their protest.

"The factory calls us for overtime until 9 or 10 PM, even on Saturdays. Line workers have to work overnight. Going home late at night feels unsafe. We’re forced to work overtime on Sundays too. We have to wait about 20 minutes for ferry vans in front of the factory. There are underage workers in the factory as well. Production targets are unfair, but we have to meet them anyway. We can’t even go to the toilet freely," workers told FGWM.

SPRING RIVER KNITTING (MYANMAR) is located in Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaingthaya Township, employing over 600 workers. The factory is manufacturing the BETTY&CO and BETTY BARCLAY brands.