By Myo Thein - Jul 24, 2025
Workers at New Plus Garment Factory, say a foreign female sewing line supervisor physically assaulted a sewing worker.
Workers also said all foreign line supervisors in the factory mistreat sewing workers.
“A Chinese woman supervisor from Line 1 to Line 6 hit the worker with a piece of cloth. The woman who was sewing managed to dodge it. It happened right in front of the boys sewing the Mushroom pattern at Line 1. She got embarrassed and started crying when she saw them watching,” they said.
The incident occurred at around 4:30 PM on July 22. A worker who witnessed it said it happened because the production target was not delivered.
They said workers on the Line 1 have to handle multiple points alone because the line demands high output.
“That line is where bonuses are chased. They demand a lot of garments. They said it happened due to can’t keeping up. The supervisor’s point finishes sewing, and garments get passed on. But the two behind her are slower, and she has to sew the ones they couldn’t finish. It’s impossible to keep up. She got physically abused when she told them she couldn’t handle the workload,” the worker said.
Workers said the Chinese female supervisor on Line 1 often demands large quantities and regularly blames workers for fabric defects. The incident occurred around 4:30 PM during the break period, according to another worker.
“It happened at 4:30 PM, during the overtime break. That line doesn’t allow breaks. They keep sewing. The factory says they give breaks, but they don’t shut off the power. Lines that chase output don’t get to rest if the machine doesn’t stop. So, we keep sewing,” they said.
A few days earlier, the same Chinese woman fired a male sewing worker on Line 1 for being absent too often, workers said.
“That boy felt unwell on July 8 and left with a gate pass around 4:30 PM. The next day was a full moon day. He couldn’t come on the day after that. But he came back to work on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was a day off. The Chinese woman told him not to come anymore and fired him when he came back on Monday,” the workers said.
Male sewing workers work on that line and they are often fired easily for absences, according to a worker.
“They fire workers based on their own preferences. They’d have to pay service compensation and yearly bonus if it were done legally. But instead, they just fire us without giving anything,” workers said.
According to Myanmar labor law, four conditions are required for terminating a worker: probation period, misconduct, work stoppage, and other legal grounds.
“If it’s for misconduct, the law says the worker must be given two written warnings first. They must sign a pledge if the misconduct repeats. Only if it happens again within 12 months can the employer terminate them without paying compensation. If not, the employer has to pay compensation. Compensation must be paid based on length of service if a worker is fired without cause,” said a labor rights advocate.
New Plus Garment Factory is located on Kyauk Sein Road, Thadukan Industrial Zone, Shwepyitha Township, Yangon, and employs over 1,000 workers.
