Myo Thein
Feb 08, 2026
Workers say that the garment factory owned by Myanmar Zxi Xin Garment Co., Ltd. is requiring daily overtime and also forcing mid-night overtime shifts on Saturdays. Departments such as Packing, QC (Quality Control), Iron, and Bartack (button attaching) are reportedly required to work all-night shifts on a daily basis.
“An mid-night shift means working until 12 midnight. At the factory, we work two hours of overtime every day. In the finishing section, like Packing and QC, we have to work mid-night shifts almost every day,” workers said.
They said that nearly all factory workers are required to work mid-night overtime every Saturday, while on other days shifts are rotated. Workers are working more than 20 hours of overtime per week in total. Under Myanmar labor law, only 44 working hours per week are permitted. According to the statement issued by the Factories and General Labour Laws Inspection Department, overtime is limited to three hours per day and five hours on Saturdays, with a total maximum of 20 overtime hours per week.
According to an official from the Solidarity Trade Unions of Myanmar (STUM), Myanmar Zxi Xin Garment previously operated a garment factory in Shwepyithar under the name YFA, but it was shut down due to union formation by workers.
“They closed the factory and reopened in Hlaingtharyar. They rehired former workers but did not sign EC contracts. They are forcing overtime beyond what the law allows and have begun oppressing workers,” the STUM official said.
Around 1,500 workers are currently employed at Myanmar Zxi Xin Garment factory. The factory is located in on Panbe Khaung Maung Khet Road, Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaing Tharyar Township. The STUM official also said that the absence of EC contracts is not only harmful to workers but can also negatively affect the employer.
“EC contracts include provisions about what must not be done. If the factory asks a worker to sign a warning letter, without an EC contract the worker can refuse,” the official said.
The factory is known to mainly manufacture workwear and safety uniforms under the HOP-SCOT brand of Japan-based Chugoku Sangyo Co., Ltd.
