By Min Ni Kyaw - Mar 24, 2025
Myanmar workers from factory No. 2 of XishangGarment Factory in Yingjiang, Yunnan Province, China, that they are being made to work every Sunday for half a day without receiving any overtime pay.
“We have to work half a day on rvery Sunday. We don’t get a single cent for overtime. And then the supervisors and assistant supervisors threaten us about our salaries if we say we don’t want to work the overtime,” said one factory worker.
Workers added that the factory’s managers and supervisors yell and verbally abuse them if they don’t do the Sunday overtime. Upon joining, workers were told the working days would be from Monday to Saturday, with working hours from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
“They said if we work beyond normal hours, we would get overtime pay. But now we have to work till 10 p.m. almost every day, sometimes till 11 or 12 at night and if we don’t meet the target. We get no overtime pay. The work hours are long, but the wages are low. Plus, they make lots of deductions,” workers reported.
The factory had promised a monthly wage of 1,800 yuan, but workers say their actual pay, including attendance bonus, comes to around 1,600 yuan. In addition, 100 yuan is deducted monthly for the broker, another 100 yuan for accommodation, and 40 yuan for medical checks.
“These are monthly deductions. Most Myanmar workers here came under a debt system. We have to repay brokers and factory owners. They deduct 50 yuan if we miss just a half-day of work and request leave. They deduct 100 yuan for full day. On top of that, they also deduct a 200 yuan attendance bonus. After personal expenses, we’re left with only about 1,000 yuan,” one worker said.
Supervisors come to the dorms and force them to work without rest or medical care if workers can’t work due to health issues. The food and water provided by the factory are poor, and in the dorms, workers report that electricity and hot water are sometimes cut off by the factory.
“It’s getting worse. The food is oilless and tasteless, and we’re given plain boiled soup. Work finishes at 10 p.m., and at the dorm, they cut off the electricity at 11 p.m. They say it’s because the meter limit is reached. In winter, they cut off hot water, and in summer, there’s no cold water. On holidays, they cut off electricity and water. They refuse to sign our exit request ehen we ask to go back to Myanmar. This factory makes us both physically and mentally exhausted,” they said.
Workers state that due to wage issues and discriminatory treatment by supervisors and assistant supervisors, they face serious social and financial challenges even while working abroad to support their families.
“There’s no dedicated cleaner at the factory. Sewing workers have to take turns doing cleaning every day, while still finishing the garment targets. Lunch breaks are officially 30 minutes, but we only get about 15 minutes to eat quickly and rush back to work. Some workers even skip lunch because if they don’t meet the target, they get scolded and blamed,” said one worker.
The factory has 16 production lines, each with 20 workers, and all workers are from Myanmar, according to reports from inside the factory.
#Information – According to the Labor Law of the People’s Republic of China, which is meant to protect workers, daily working hours must not exceed 8 hours, and monthly overtime is limited to 36 hours. The law also states that workers are entitled to receive overtime pay for work done on official rest days.
