"Are Workers’ Rights Still Out of Reach?" "January 2025: Ongoing Violations"

As the new year began in January 2025, labor law violations persisted, leading to ongoing losses of workers' rights. Throughout the month, labor protests and demands were raised, yet township labor offices failed to resolve workers' complaints.

Myanmar Labour News reported 26 factory-related incidents in January, with 25 factories identified as violating workers' rights. Among them, 22 were garment factories, one was a service company, one was a distribution business, and one was an agricultural chemical company.

The most common violations involved wage deductions, followed by forced overtime beyond legal limits and verbal abuse in the workplace. Three factories were reported to have experienced worker protests over labor conditions, but coercion and forced labor remained widespread.

Factories continued withholding overtime wages, deducting regular wages and allowances, and denying legally entitled benefits. A report from Wonderful Apparel Co. Ltd (located on Han Steel Power Road, Myaung Dagar Industrial Zone, Hmawbi Township) highlighted pay cuts for daily wage workers and other violations.

This factory, employing over 200 workers, manufactures clothing under the MARK and T.BUC brands.

“There are daily wage workers at the factory. They are never made permanent staff even after working for more than three months. They are forced to work overtime on Saturdays but are only paid 6,800 MMK, without any overtime pay. Permanent workers are forced to meet unrealistic production targets. The factory demands 90-100 if a line typically produces 80-85 pieces. Some items that previously had a quota of 35-40 pieces are now set at 50. Some workers are so pressured to meet targets that they avoid drinking water or going to the restroom. Workers are forced to help in other sections if work is slow in that section, they are verbally abused by supervisors if they fail to meet quotas. Workers are made to unload timber trucks or carry fuel barrels sometimes, which are not part of their factory job duties,” said a worker.

Workers also reported to MLN about unsanitary conditions, including lack of clean drinking water and broken restroom facilities with insufficient water supply and broken doors.

“It takes excessive pleading before we get permission if we feel unwell and ask for a gate pass to go home. HR managers are rarely in the office and spend most of their time in the clinic. The factory nurse, who is supposed to stay in the clinic, is instead made to handle HR duties, so when we need medical help, we struggle to find her. No improvements have been made despite frequent online complaints about factory violations,” another worker said.

In January, Myanmar Labour News documented cases of factories cutting wages, subjecting workers to humiliating verbal abuse, forcing illegal overtime, threatening and coercing employees, practicing discriminatory treatment, and failing to provide a safe and healthy work environment. These issues remain unaddressed despite repeated complaints.

Wage Deductions

Workers continue to face wage deductions, including unpaid leave deductions, withheld allowances, and forced overtime without pay. Many factories fail to pay seniority and attendance bonuses, cut skill-based wages, and penalize daily wage workers by denying overtime pay. Some also deduct salaries due to administrative errors, delay severance payments, terminate workers without compensation, or hire without disclosing wage rates.

“The factory operates on a per-piece wage system, but the production quotas are unrealistic. Workers are expected to meet whatever demand the factory owner sets. Moreover, the per-piece rate is not clearly disclosed—workers only receive whatever amount is decided at payday,” said a worker from Mai Yi Bei Garment Factory.

In January 2025, 16 companies were reported for wage deductions, including Diamond Rental Myanmar Co., Ltd, which rents industrial machinery, and Myanmar Arysta Life Science Co., Ltd, an agricultural chemical company. The remaining 14 cases involved garment factories.

These garment factories include Fitex (Myanmar) Garment https://www.myanmarlabournews.com/en/posts/excessive-overtime-forced-reprimand-requirements-in-addition-of-discrimination-faced-for-refusal , Gold Emperor 1 https://www.myanmarlabournews.com/en/posts/gold-emperor-1-footwear-factory-excessively-demands-overtime-and-forces-work-without-allowing-new-year-holidays , Grand Forest International Apparel Co., Ltd, JOYFUL (Myanmar) Garment https://www.myanmarlabournews.com/en/posts/leave-requests-being-rejected-workers-terminated-unlawfully , LIAN FA (Myanmar), LITA MYANMAR Co., Ltd, Mai Yi Bei Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Myanmar Guotai Huasheng Glory Fashion Garment Myanmar Jiale Fashion Co., Ltd 1), Myanto Industrial Co., Ltd SAFETY CLOTHING (Myanmar) Co. https://www.myanmarlabournews.com/en/posts/workers-facing-hardships-due-to-unlawful-dismissals , Ltd SHIN SUNG Garment https://www.myanmarlabournews.com/en/posts/workers-forced-to-meet-unrealistic-production-targets-and-pressured-with-intimidation  and Xin Rui https://www.myanmarlabournews.com/en/posts/workers-at-xin-rui-garment-factory-face-discrimination-when-demanding-legal-rights

Factories reported in January 2025

The table is sorted from the most to the least frequent types of violations.

Workplace Verbal Abuse

Verbal abuse in the workplace has been a major concern, with many workers reporting psychological distress due to being subjected to harsh language.

"We must pick it up and keep working if a fabric piece failed in quality. We are not allowed to say anything back. Supervisors from Line 8, Line 15, and Line 14 are extremely harsh when demanding garments. The supervisor from Line 16 starts shouting for garments early in the morning. They publicly yell at workers when production targets are not met, making them feel embarrassed. One worker even resigned in tears after being humiliated," said a worker at Myanmar Guotai Huasheng Glory Fashion Garment.

A total of 13 factories have been reported for verbal abuse incidents, all of which are garment factories. The affected factories include:

DMA, FZ GARMENT Co.,Ltd, Grand Forest International Apparel Co.,Ltd, JOYFUL (Myanmar) Garment, LITA MYANMAR Co.,Ltd, Myanmar Guotai Huasheng Glory Fashion Garment, Myanmar Jiale Fashion Co.,Ltd 1, Myanto Industrial Co.,Ltd, Sheng Da Ming Apparel Co, Ltd https://www.myanmarlabournews.com/en/posts/workers-said-that-payment-and-work-schedules-at-sheng-da-ming-apparel-co-ltd-are-one-sided , SHIN SUNG Garment, W&F Group Co.,Ltd, Wonderful Apparel Co.Ltd
and Xin Rui.

Violation of Overtime Labour Laws

Despite legal regulations on overtime work, most garment factories do not comply. Violations include failing to provide prior notice, forcing workers to sign agreements under duress, requiring overtime without consent, verbal abuse, making workers compensate for missed shifts with overtime, withholding overtime wages, and creating an unsafe mental environment for workers during overtime shifts.

A worker from Sheng Da Ming Apparel Co., Ltd stated, “The female manager yells and insults us if we refuse to work overtime. The factory owner's sisters and nieces also take up large spaces in the factory and treat us with extreme rudeness. They constantly call us low-class and useless. They say the owner will simply bribe the authorities to shut us up if we try to report the abuse.”

In January 2025, 13 factories were reported for violating overtime laws, all of which were garment factories. The reported factories are Asialink (Myanmar) Fashion Company Limited https://www.myanmarlabournews.com/en/posts/most-factories-forced-workers-to-work-overtime-despite-official-holidays-being-announced , Fitex (Myanmar) Garment, FZ GARMENT Co., Ltd, Gold Emperor 1, Grand Forest International Apparel Co., Ltd, LIAN FA (Myanmar), LITA MYANMAR Co., Ltd, Mai Yi Bei Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Myanmar Guotai Huasheng Glory Fashion Garment, SAFETY CLOTHING (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, Sheng Da Ming Apparel Co., Ltd, W&F Group Co., Ltd, and Wonderful Apparel Co., Ltd.

Coercion and Threats in the Workplace

Forms of coercion and threats in the workplace include intimidation with termination or factory closure, forcing workers to sign warning letters, pressuring workers to accept overtime shifts, threats of lawsuits, coercion to sign contracts that do not align with EC agreements, requiring unattainable production targets with inadequate staffing, verbal abuse for failing to meet targets, and constant surveillance of union members.

A worker from Myanto Industrial Co., Ltd stated, “This factory has been operating for two years, yet there is still no EC agreement. The employer unilaterally enforces regulations, and workers who cannot comply are forced to sign contracts under pressure. Our wages, including daily pay and allowances, amount to 8,800 MMK, with attendance bonuses at 20,000 MMK and skill pay ranging from 20,000 MMK to 60,000 MMK. However, deductions are made for not meeting production targets when wages are distributed. The working environment is full of oppression and exploitation.”

In January 2025, reports of workplace threats and coercion were documented in 11 factories, including 10 garment factories and one gold handicraft business. The gold handicraft business is Shwe Htake Htar Gold Handicrafts, while the garment factories are Fitex (Myanmar) Garment, FZ GARMENT Co., Ltd, Gold Emperor 1, GYSEN (Myanmar) Apparel Co., Ltd, LITA MYANMAR Co., Ltd, Mai Yi Bei Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Myanmar Guotai Huasheng Glory Fashion Garment, Myanmar Jiale Fashion Co., Ltd 1, Myanto Industrial Co., Ltd, and SAFETY CLOTHING (Myanmar) Co., Ltd.

Discrimination in the Workplace

Forms of discrimination include wage disparities, differential treatment for refusing overtime, retaliation for asserting labour rights, discrimination based on production targets, bias against daily wage workers, and discrimination against union members.

A worker from LITA MYANMAR Co., Ltd stated, “We staged a protest with seven demands on December 23. In response, the managers and factory supervisors retaliated by imposing even more unreasonable production targets. They said things like, ‘Do you think you can get money for free?’ and constantly insulted us. They also forced us to perform tasks outside our department. Since we were unfamiliar with the work in other sections, we couldn’t meet the expected targets. They just insulted us more when we tried to explain.”

Discrimination in the workplace was reported in 10 garment factories in January 2025. The factories are Fitex (Myanmar) Garment, FZ GARMENT Co., Ltd, GYSEN (Myanmar) Apparel Co., Ltd, LITA MYANMAR Co., Ltd, Myanmar Jiale Fashion Co., Ltd 1, Myanto Industrial Co., Ltd, SAFETY CLOTHING (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, W&F Group Co., Ltd, Wonderful Apparel Co., Ltd, and Xin Rui.

Factories with Inadequate Working Conditions

A safe and healthy working environment is essential for workers to perform their jobs effectively. The Myanmar Labour Law mandates certain workplace conditions to be maintained. However, reports indicated that nine garment factories failed to meet these standards in January 2025.

The deficiencies reported include poor ventilation, excessive heat exposure, unsanitary restrooms, insufficient hygiene facilities, lack of medical supplies and personnel, repurposing nurses for non-medical duties, unclean drinking water, inadequate transportation arrangements, lack of dining space, and overcrowding in canteens.

The factories reported for inadequate working conditions are Fitex (Myanmar) Garment, Grand Forest International Apparel Co., Ltd, JOYFUL (Myanmar) Garment, LITA MYANMAR Co., Ltd, Mai Yi Bei Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd, SAFETY CLOTHING (Myanmar) Co., Ltd, W&F Group Co., Ltd, Wonderful Apparel Co., Ltd, and Xin Rui.

Critical but Lesser-Reported Violations

Reports from Myanmar Labour News in January 2025 highlighted various labour law violations, though fewer in number, that are still significant. The violations include 8 factories denying workers their legally mandated leave, 7 factories unlawfully dismissing workers, 7 factories imposing unreasonable production quotas, 5 factories violating the rights of daily wage workers, 3 factories breaching EC contract agreements, 3 factories forcing workers to relocate or perform unrelated tasks, 3 factories making workers work over five consecutive hours without rest, 3 factories experiencing labour protests, 2 factories failing to provide full rest periods, 2 factories where foreign managers directly controlled and supervised workers, 2 factories employing underage workers in violation of labour laws, 1 factory forming a WCC committee that does not comply with legal guidelines, and 1 factory instructing workers to provide false statements during inspections.

While these cases are fewer in number, they represent serious violations of labour laws and regulations. Additionally, these violations are often linked to other forms of exploitation, such as wage deductions, verbal abuse in the workplace, forced overtime, intimidation, discrimination, and unsafe working conditions.

Myanmar Labour Society

Research Team