By Myo Thein - Oct 08, 2025
Workers from the Sudey garment factory in Bago, report that they are suffering from wage deductions, grade pay disparities, and daily workplace discrimination due to the personal favoritism of a supervising staff member, , according to testimonies shared with Myanmar Labour News.
Workers say the situation is worst in Factory B, particularly on lines 10, 11, and 12, where the supervisor and their partner allegedly exploit their positions for personal gain and engage in abusive behavior.
“We show up every day and meet our production targets. But the supervisor’s partner, who skips work, still gets an A grade. When we miss even one day, we lose both our daily wage and grade bonus and we’re scolded on top of that,” said one worker.
Workers alleged that the supervisor frequently downgrades the performance grades of anyone who does not get along with their partner, using various excuses.
Even though some employees produce to full target, those with only one or two years of experience and who are not in the supervisor’s favor are reportedly never given A grades. Workers are now calling for intervention.
“They only give good positions to people who eat at the same lunch table with the supervisor,” said another worker.
Due to favoritism, workers report wage discrepancies as high as 40,000 kyats.
“Supervisor knows about this, but doesn’t do anything. The head supervisor tried to fix it once, but it’s only gotten worse,” workers said.
While workers are earning just 6,800 kyats as daily wages, they say they were made to pay 15,000 kyats during the Thadingyut holiday for gift offerings to superiors.
Workers also claim that they’re afraid to file complaints with HR or WCC due to legal threats.
“We have a WCC, but we can’t go to them. We’re also too afraid to go to HR. They threaten to sue us if we say anything bad about the factory. So, we have no choice but to endure it,” one worker explained.
According to workers, during a past inspection by labour authorities, an employee who spoke the truth was fired, while someone who gave false answers was rewarded with 100,000 kyats. No one dares to speak honestly since then.
Sudey Factory is located in Kali Village, North East Kali Zone, Bago Township. It currently produces garments for brands like La Vie en Rose and Amisu. The factory is Chinese-owned and operated by Chinese citizen. It is manufacturing private-label children’s clothing and garments for Finisterre, Myer, and Next Plc with over 1,500 workers.
