By Ma Ma - Feb 12, 2025
Workers at Hang Kei Myanmar Garment Factory Co., Ltd, a Chinese-owned factory, report that they are forced to work daily overtime and pressured to meet unrealistic production targets, but their wages are not calculated correctly.
The factory is located on Min Gyi Maha Min Khaung Road, Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, and operates with over 1,000 workers.
According to workers, the factory dismissed the existing union members and replaced them with a management-controlled union after the military takeover. The factory manufactures brands such as MYMEMORY, Elam, Hunkemöller, Women’secret, and La Vie en Rose.
“Our working hours are from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM. There are two short break periods, but we have to work three hours of overtime every day. Our wages, including allowances, total 8,000 MMK, and OT pay is 2,000 MMK per hour. Our monthly salaries never reach 400,000 MMK even with these wages. We are paid based on piece rate targets, meaning we have to sew continuously without proper breaks. We never receive a full 400,000 MMK salary. Many workers quit because they cannot meet these impossible targets despite working under these conditions,” said one worker.
Supervisors and line leaders are pressuring workers with excessive production demands. Each sewing line consists of 35 workers, yet the factory requires them to produce 1,500 pieces per 11-hour shift. Supervisors and assistant supervisors yell and insult workers when production targets are not met. Some workers are even forced to take unfinished garments home to complete them, while the stressful working environment has led to increased resignations.
“The factory hires daily wage workers but fires them before they complete three months, preventing them from gaining permanent employee status. They immediately terminate workers if production orders are low. There are also about 70 underage workers, aged 14 to 15 years old, working in the factory. The factory does not require them to provide medical clearance certificates. Workers are not allowed to take leave on Saturdays or Mondays, and even when they apply for leave, it is counted as unpaid absences. Sick leave is not granted either. Although the factory has a union, workers do not know what it does. We have to if we want a single day off. We lose the entire 40,000 MMK attendance bonus if we miss even one day of work. Workers are not allowed to rest even when they faint from exhaustion. There is no medicine in the factory clinic, and management temporarily fills the medical box with supplies when labor inspectors visit, only to remove them afterward,” said a worker.
Workers have already reported these violations to the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) and have requested support.
Workers are demanding job security for daily wage workers instead of dismissing them when orders decrease, fair treatment of underage workers without forcing them to work the same as adults, the right to take leave on Saturdays and Mondays without penalties, production targets that reflect actual worker capacity instead of impossible quotas, inclusion of piece rate earnings (target wages) in base salaries to ensure fair compensation, and an end to verbal abuse from supervisors and assistant supervisors.
