By Hsu Latt Phyu - Jul 29, 2024

Workers from MYANMAR Long sheng Fashion garment factory which is operating with around 2,000 workers said they are suffering from health issues due to being forced to work excessive overtime which makes them to work 20 hours a day on the days they work mid-night and all-night overtimes.

The factory owned by a Chinese national is located at Kanaung Minthargyi Street, Industrial Zone 2, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon region and manufacturing JACK&JONES brand jackets, raincoats, leathers and kolafie apparels.

The normal working hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and after a break time of 30 minutes they work again from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. and work for another day at 8:00 a.m. in the next day which makes the workers sleepless and leads to several health issues.

“We are working double of legal hours. It may be around 21 hours per day. We are working like this since June. Workers get health issues for working mid-night and all-night overtimes. The employer discriminate and hold grudges if we don’t work,” the worker said.

There is no trade union in the factory but workplace coordination committee is formed but they don’t resolve the workers’ problems.

“We have WCC but they follow exactly what the employer wants and they never resolved our workplace problems,” a worker commented.

While being called excessive overtime, they are also demanded excessive fabric outputs which exceeds than their productivity.

There are 43 workers in a production line including super and helper and such a line is asked 24 jackets per hour. A seamstress have to sew 2 or 3 points at the same time and verbally abused if the demands are not met. 

Furthermore, they are also forced to sign to work on Sundays which is a public holiday.

“We can’t rest on day off. They forced us to sign a paper which means like we wants to work overtime very much so that the employer allow us to work,” a worker explained.

Around the half of 2,000 workers in the factory are day laborers and most of them are underage child laborers. But they are losing their rights for being forced to work the same as adults and get paid only 4,800 kyats per day and 1,200 kyats per overtime per hour.

“The child laborers are from 15 to 17 years old. Those from production lines are appointed as permanent stuffs after a month but other child laborers from other departments aren’t. They have to work around 7 months as day laborers. Day laborers are not entitled to attendance bonus, day off wages, expert fees and subsidy,” the worker said.

The workers said that they want resolvents for those violations such as calling excessive overtime without considering workers’ health and social issues and exploiting the child laborers.

The workers requests are

1. To stop calling mid-night and all-night overtimes.

2. To appoint day laborers with more than 3 months of services as permanent stuffs.

3. WCC doesn’t represent the workers as they are not seleceted by them

4. To ask only fabric output demands that aligns with their productivity

5. To not call overtime on Sundays