By Myo Thein - Jun 21, 2025

Workers at Chi Mai Garment Factory report being verbally abused and threatened by the factory manager and interpreter woman. They say that they are subjected to one-sided accusations without a chance to explain instead of addressing workplace concerns.

“They demand production targets that can’t be met. The manager yells before we even speak when we try to explain why we can’t meet the targets. They also uses Chinese curse words. The interpreter also shouts us. The mildest threat is to cut our wages—they even say we’ll be fired,” workers stated.

They added that both the manager and interpreter constantly belittle them, causing humiliation and emotional distress.

“They say supervisors’ wages will be cut. They curse in Chinese. They say they’ll cut our pay. They threaten us every time. And now we work overtime until 4:30 a.m. There's no set end time—it’s whenever the work is done. They give us 2,000 kyat for meals, but that’s not enough,” a worker explained.

With a meal of plain rice costing up to 1,200 kyat per pack, workers say the 2,000 kyat meal allowance is insufficient. Regular working hours are from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with no break after the lunch shift starts, according to the workers.

“Lunch breaks are split into two shifts—11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. There are no more breaks after that. We work straight through until overtime ends. We work until 5:30on Saturdays. Sometimes we work Sundays, too. Last month we had to do overnight shifts three times,” they added.

Currently, the factory pays 9,500 kyat as daily wage and 2,000 kyat per hour for overtime. Although working hours and production targets are the same across departments, workers say that allowances like grade and attendance bonuses are given unequally.

“Other departments get a 30,000 kyat attendance bonus, while sewing lines get 40,000. The sewing line starts at 60,000 grade bonus  for Grade C, but other departments get only 60,000 for Grade A,” workers said.

Workers say it’s difficult to report or voice concerns about the abuse and discrimination they face as there is no WCC (Workplace Coordination Committee) formed within the factory.

Chi Mai International Co., Ltd is located near No. 14 Street Junction Bus Stop, Shwepyithar Industrial Zone 3, Yangon, and employs around 1,000 workers.