By Thar Gyi - Jul 17, 2025

Workers from the Myanmar Xing He garment factory said they were forced to sign up for overtime work on the upcoming Martyrs’ Day public holiday. According to the workers, they were coerced into signing on July 16 without their consent.

“A supervisor said the garments are urgent and we must work. They are forcing us to work on Martyrs’ Day but won’t pay double wages for the overtime. They’ll cut our attendance bonus if we don’t show up. The supervisors and superiors are taking down names of those who can’t work,” said a female worker.

Workers said they are being forced to work on a public holiday without receiving the legally mandated double wage although the factory claimed that a substitute day off would be given on the upcoming July 26 for Martyrs’ Day.

According to a 2022 directive from the Department of Labour Inspection under the Labour Law, workers must provide their consent to work overtime, and employers are required to apply for permission in advance. Employers must submit overtime requests to the relevant labour office one week in advance, and authorized overtime must be carried out with signed acknowledgement from both employers and factory managers.

“They said they would give a substitute day off. But we just want double pay for overtime. Then they said they’d cut our bonus. That’s a 30,000 kyats loss from our salary. They wrote down our names when we said we couldn’t work. That kind of record puts pressure on us. They scold us in front of others even if we’ve done nothing wrong,” said the workers.

In May, when Myanmar Xing He garment workers gathered to demand higher wages, security forces intervened. Two female workers were dismissed from their jobs although a wage increase was achieved after negotiations.

Myanmar Xing He Garment Factory is located on Ava Road, Shwe Pauk Kan Industrial Zone, North Okkalapa Township, Yangon, and employs over 1,000 workers.