By Myo Thein - Jul 30, 2025

Workers at Myanmar Fala Fala garment factory say their wage demands were not accepted by factory management after 10 days of negotiations, leading to an unsuccessful outcome and resulting in resignations among the participating workers.

The workers had started demanding wage increases on July 17, including a raise in daily wage and overtime pay. No agreement was reached despite multiple rounds of negotiation, and many workers involved in the demands decided to leave the factory.

“The main issues that were rejected were the daily wage and overtime rate. Negotiations at the regional labor office also didn’t go well. They didn’t agree either when we finally asked to resign with legal severance pay. In the end, they gave severance ranging from a minimum of 50,000 to a maximum of 100,000 kyats based on length of service, and calculated pay based only on 16 working days,” said one of the workers involved in the demands.

More than 130 workers were still involved in the demands by the final days, and over 30 chose to resign voluntarily. Around 100 others accepted the compensation offered by the factory and also resigned, workers said.

“Workers involved in the protest were treated unfairly. Some were allowed to return to their sewing lines when the strike lasted too long, , but those lines weren’t given new garment orders — they were only assigned rejected items to repair. Some supervisors were also demoted in performance rating. So going back to work wasn’t really possible. When we were told to come collect our due pay, they said 2:00 PM, but we didn’t actually get it until 4:30 PM. You can see how they treat us — it’s not just discrimination, its humiliation,” said one worker.

Some terms in the original demand were agreed to in negotiation — such as full pay for Sunday work, no deduction of attendance bonus for leaving at 4:30 PM with a gate pass, and clearly defined attendance bonus ranges before and after the 15th of each month. However, workers said there’s no guarantee the factory will uphold these agreements.

“About 300 were part of the demands out of more than 1,000 workers in the factory. Some left, some remained involved. In the end, we can say it didn’t succeed. Whether or not the agreements are followed now depends entirely on the factory’s attitude,” said the workers.

Workers had initially requested a raise to 12,000 kyats for daily wage and 2,700 kyats per hour for overtime starting July 17. Up to 350 workers had participated at one point. As negotiations dragged on, some returned to work while others formally resigned.

The factory operates in a two-building compound with around 1,000 workers and is currently manufacturing the Canadian-based brand La Vie en Rose.