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Article

19 Aug 2023

Author:
Min Ni Kyaw, Myanmar Labour News

Myanmar: Garment workers at Cheung Hing factory forced to work until 11pm

See all tags Allegations

"At the Cheung Hing Myanmar Garment Factory, the workers were able to go home after 11:00 p.m.", 19 August 2023

...workers at the Cheung Hing Myanmar Garment Factory are said to be working until 11 p.m. due to the [new pay] system.

"The factory's...system no longer limits working hours...," said Ma Swe Swe (not her real name), a garment worker from Cheung Hing Myanmar.

Ma Shwe Shwe said that the Cheung Hing Myanmar garment factory's fee system is [such] that the factory workers are paid 7,000 kyats as a bonus, and if they can sew more than the daily clothes [target],...the factory pays wages from 200 kyats to 3,000 kyats.

However, because workers are working unlimited hours without overtime pay...[w]orkers...say they are facing social and security difficulties.

"The workers get sick because they have to go home in] the rain pit every night until 10 or 11 o'clock...I can't go to the clinic. [I have] lost sleep, [I] [c]an't wash clothes. I can't clean the house. It's always late at night when[I come home and] the hostel owners don't open the hostel doors," said a worker from Cheung Hing Myanmar.

Ma Nang Nang said that there is no fixed amount of money received [with the new] garment fee system, and the amount of money received by department[s] in the factory is also different.

The workers also said that some of the slow sewing workers had to work at 11:00 p.m., but they did not want to work because they received little money.

"I don't want to do it, but the super[visors] forced me to come down..." said Ma Nang Nang (not her real name), a worker from Cheung Hing Myanmar.

Workers told Myanmar Labor News that the Cheung Hing Myanmar Garment Factory started this [pay] system in June and is still using it.

Ma Swe Swe said that although the factory pays for night work, the system of unlimited working hours has a physical and psychological impact on the workers.

"When the factory changed the wage system, some of [the workers] stopped drinking water because they were afraid to urinate. I had to run and eat the next meal...Now in August, I have to work until 11:00 or 12:00 at night. There is no day off.” said Ma Swe Swe...

The working hours of Cheung Hing Myanmar Garment Factory are from 8:00 AM to 4:45 PM, with a 35-minute break at the end of work.

But after the break, the workers said that they had to work overtime until 11:00 p.m. without a dinner break...

“...They said that [holiday leave pay] was cut because it was a support fee...Last month, the factory announced that they would not give any seniority..."...

Cheung Hing Myanmar Garment Factory is located in Yangon, Shwe Pytha Township, Watara Industrial Zone, It is said to be located on Ngamoyew Road and operates with about 700 workers.

The factory is owned by Cheung Hing Myanmar Co.ltd, and the company is a foreign-owned company registered with DICA in the second half of 2014.

According to information from Open Supply Hub, it is a Chinese-owned factory that produces Next Plc woolen fabrics.

[Translation via Google Translate]