By Min Ni Kyaw - Mar 23, 2025
Workers from XING YUAN (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, a garment factory located in the Watharyar Industrial Zone, report that they are made to work overtime daily without any rest breaks.
According to workers, they have to work overtime every day continuously without pause.
“Regular working hours end at 4:30 p.m. Overtime of 2 more hours brings it to 6 p.m., but for the whole past month and up to now, we’ve been working until 8 p.m. We’ve had to work two Sundays already this month. We’ve even signed up to work again this coming Sunday. We work until 4:30 on Saturdays. There’s a weekly overtime limit of 20 hours, but we’re already over that. Some Saturdays we also have to work the night shift. It’s been continuous overtime ever since the factory opened more than two weeks ago,” the workers said.
They have no rest time and must work continuously from lunch break until overtime ends at 6:30 or 8 p.m. Workers also say that although they are required to work long overtime hours, the factory does not provide meals.
“The supervisors threaten to lower our grades if we say we don’t want to work overtime. They say we’ll only get good grades if we work every day. We say we can’t comply anymore in the meeting, the next day they tell us not to come to work,” said workers.
Currently, each production line has more than 20 workers, but they are being asked to manufacture output that would normally require more than 50. Workers say they are not granted any legal leave entitlements even though they contribute monthly to social security. They are marked as absent and have their daily bonus and grade lowered if they miss work.
“Each person has to finish 2 to 3 points worth of garments to meet the target. The female manager even uses a mic to shout and demand the targets. The supervisors verbally abuse and curse us If we can’t meet the quotas. The assistant supervisor is the worst. They complain us for asking the overtime pay which already was underpaid,” workers said.
The factory opened in December 2024 and currently employs around 500 workers. Workers say the factory is planning to expand some production lines.
Workers also report poor sanitation near the water area, where leftover food from the office is dumped.
“They wash and dump leftover food in the drinking water area. There’s a strong smell, and we don’t feel comfortable using the water. So, we have to bring water from home. The factory is really hot, and we get very thirsty. They don’t turn on the fans, and we have to ask repeatedly before they’ll switch them on,” said workers.
Although XING YUAN (Myanmar) Co., Ltd has been operating for nearly five months, workers say they have not been given Employment contracts and there is still no Workplace Coordination Committee (WCC) established. The factory is Chinese national-owned and operates on Razadarit Road, Wathaya Industrial Zone, Shwe Pyi Thar Township, Yangon.
