By Hsu Latt Phyu - Aug 21, 2025

Workers from Wan Xin Myanmar Company Limited have reported to the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) that two workers have been accused of stealing fabric rolls at the workplace, beaten during interrogation, and taken into police custody—after which their whereabouts remain unknown, causing growing concern among fellow employees.

According to workers, two workers were apprehended following the disappearance of fabric rolls on August 10 and handed over to the police for investigation. However, the missing fabric rolls were reportedly later brought back to the factory by an interpreter.

One of the workers said “On August 10, the employer called the police over the missing rolls. The police interrogated the two workers in a room, beat them, and took them away. At 7 PM, the interpreter returned the missing rolls on a three-wheeled motorcycle. We don’t think the workers stole them,” one worker said.

Since then, no information has been available about the two detained workers. There have also been rumors that one of them may have been forcibly recruited for military service, which has raised fears among the remaining employees.

The factory, which is Chinese-owned and employs over 400 workers, is known to manufacture international brands such as Sinsay, Beverly Hills Polo Club, and Nautica.

Workers report additional labour right violations, including employing underage workers without medical clearance, imposing an excessive quota of 30 garments per hour, verbal abuse for failing to meet targets, and mandatory daily overtime without rest, leading to serious health consequences.

“We’ve been doing overnight overtime every day. No one can handle it anymore, but we can’t refuse. They pressure us to do overtime by bringing in hooligans and the police. We’re still working, afraid, and they say nothing even when someone collapses from exhaustion because they always have new people lining up to replace,” said one worker.

Despite workers being forced to do illegal overtime, they claim they are denied statutory leave and healthcare, even though social security contributions are deducted monthly.

“We don’t get leave even if we’re sick or have emergencies. We lose 50,000 MMK in daily and bonus wages if we miss one day. Pregnant workers are fired as soon as pregnancy became late stage. There are no workers’ rights at all,” a worker added.

In a factory producing for international brands, such practices including coercion, labor rights violations, and lack of compliance with labour laws are not only degrading to Myanmar workers but also contribute to the spread of exploitative work environments, workers said.

The demands of the workers are:

1. Employers must cease pressuring workers into illegal overtime (both evening and overnight shifts).
2. Employers must not use hooligans or police to threaten or coerce workers into doing overtime.
3. Employers should only demand realistic garment production targets.
4. Employers must not terminate pregnant workers.
5. Fire safety measures must be implemented in the factory.
6. Over 100 underage workers aged 14–16 must not be assigned the same tasks as adult workers.
7. The two detained workers must be released immediately.