By Ma Ma - Mar 12, 2025
Despite reports of workplace violations at Beaume International Garment Mfg Limited, a Chinese national-owned factory, and an inspection by officials from the Ministry of Labour, factory workers state that no subsequent changes have been made.
The factory, located on Phan Chat Wan U Shwe O Road, Industrial Zone 2, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, operates with a workforce of over 900 employees.
There is no trade union in the workplace, and the factory mainly produces jackets, jeans, reflective shirts, and raincoats under Japanese orders for brands such as I’Z FRONTIER and NEO ENGINEER GEAR.
"Officials from the Labour Department came for an inspection on March 3. However, instead of directly inspecting the factory floor, they sat in the office and questioned selected WCC (Workplace Coordinating Committee) members. They also handed out pre-prepared forms and asked workers to fill them out regarding workplace conditions. However, WCC-affiliated workers did not report the actual violations. Some workers wrote down the truth, but in the end nothing changed in the factory, even though an inspection was conducted. The violations remain the same. For example, workers are still being forced to work on holidays without prior agreement," said a factory worker.
The factory does not grant public holidays, instead requiring workers to do overtime. Additionally, the WCC, which is supposed to mediate labour disputes, focuses only on meeting production targets. Workers also report that daily wage employees are not given permanent contracts and that they face difficulties when requesting leave for personal emergencies.
"The official working hours are from 8:15 AM to 6:45 PM. We are required to work from 8:15 AM until midnight on Saturdays. We are pressured by the employer to stay even if we don’t want to. We are forced to work overtime until dawn when there are urgent orders. This constant pressure has led to long-term health issues, and now many workers no longer want to do overtime. Additionally, we are forced to work on Sundays and significant public holidays without any breaks," the worker added.
Workers also complain that excessive and unrealistic production quotas are being demanded. A single sewing line with 60 workers is required to produce between 400 to 600 pieces per hour, while certain styles have quotas as high as 60 to 50 pieces per worker depending on the clothing style.
Factory workers have reached out to the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) for assistance in addressing these labour rights violations. They are demanding that Sunday overtime be eliminated and that authorities conduct further inspections with effective follow-up actions, as the previous inspection led to no meaningful improvements.
