By Min Ni Kyaw - Nov 28, 2024
Workers at Straightex Co., Ltd., located in Shwepyithar Township, reported that the factory has been forcing them to work mid-night overtime, including on Saturdays and Sundays, which are supposed to be rest days. Workers stated that they have been made to work overtime for the past two weeks in November.
“They don’t ask for the workers’ consent. They just force overtime (OT) on us. They say the garment orders are urgent and force us to work. Even on Sundays, they make us work against our will. If we don’t comply, the supervisors scold us. Last Saturday, they made us work until 8:30 PM, and some production lines and departments had to work overnight until dawn. We have no choice, and we can’t even speak out about it. Continuous overtime calls make it very difficult for us to manage meal and transportation,” said a female worker.
The factory’s regular working hours are from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, with two hours of daily overtime as a standard. Workers reported that, starting from the previous week in November, they have been required to work overtime until 8:30 PM. Additionally, last Saturday, workers had to work until 8:30 PM as well.
“We are not supposed to work on Sunday if we work overnight on Saturday. However, workers who didn’t work on Saturday are required to work overtime on Sunday. We’ve had to work over 20 hours of overtime in a week. Having to work on rest days like Sundays creates a lot of difficulties for us. They require us to work until 8:30 PM, and by the time we get home, it’s around 9:00 PM. It’s extremely inconvenient for us,” said another female worker.
Workers reported that the Straightex factory has 14 production lines and employs about 800 workers. On days when workers are required to work until 8:30 PM, they don’t get any rest after lunch and have to work continuously.
“They allow us only a 15-minute break at 6:30 PM if we work until 8:30 PM. But we don’t get any break at all if it’s until 6:30 PM. The supervisors and O-Supers summon us and threaten to demote us in grade rankings if we refuse to work overtime. They also scold us. When they scold, it’s full of obscene words. It has become their go-to language,” said one worker.
Workers also stated that they cannot keep up with output demands because of constant yelling and scolding from leaders. As a result, they have to work continuously without a moment of ease. Despite the factory being in operation for only about six months, workers said that forced overtime has been happening for nearly four months.
The Straightex factory is located near the Ngapyawdaw Kyaung Street (near Kwat Thit bus stop) in Watayar Industrial Zone, Shwe Pyi Thar Township, Yangon. It is a joint Chinese-Myanmar co-founded factory employing around 800 workers. No additional information about the factory was found in DICA records. Furthermore workers stated that the factory has no unions or a Workplace Coordination Committee (WCC).
