As Myanmar marks the fourth anniversary of the military coup, new research shows that factories supplying major high street fashion brands including H&M, Frasers Group, BESTSELLER (and its brand Vero Moda) and Reserved are linked with allegations of serious labour rights abuses.

108 allegations of labour rights abuses linked to 80 international apparel brands were tracked over a four-month period in 2024 by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, a rate of almost one per day.

These abuses included child labour, harassment, intimidation, abuse, wage theft, unsafe working conditions and mandatory overtime.

The latest data brings the total number of abuse allegations tracked by BHRRC since the coup to 665 incidents, linked to 187 international brands. The latest data can be explored in full in our Myanmar Garment Worker Allegations Tracker.

LPP S.A. and its brands including Reserved topped the list with 21 allegations. This comes as the company (among other brands) is subject to an OECD complaint filed by banned trade unions in Myanmar and IndustriALL Global Union in relation to its continued sourcing from the country amidst evidence of labour rights abuses.

Our research on Myanmar’s apparel factories reveals:

• Unsafe working conditions: two-thirds of cases (66%), including serious risks to women’s health in particular.
• Inhumane work rates and mandatory overtime: six out of ten cases (62%). Concerning in themselves, these conditions are exacerbated by a lack of safety outside the workplace – with workers forced to make the choice between spending the night on the factory floor or risk travelling home late at night, with the possibility of being stopped by the military or criminal gangs or being involved in an accident caused by unsafe transportation provided by their employers.
• Harassment, intimidation and abuse: 55% of cases
• Reduced wages and wage theft: 53% of cases
• Gender-based violence and harassment: 47% of cases
• Child labour, with reports of children forced to work at the same level as adult workers and treated poorly by employers: 13% of cases.

All these abuses occur in the context of a uniquely pressurised environment relating to military control in Myanmar, with business-military collusion and worker surveillance in factories also found in 12 cases (11%).

In some cases, factories were accused of weaponising the threat of military intervention to suppress dissent and prevent workers from standing up for their rights. In one instance at He Me T garment factory, reports outline visits by the military requiring factories to provide the names of male workers to be added to conscription lists.

Natalie Swan, Labour Rights Programme Manager, said:

‘Four years on from the junta’s coup, we can see that human rights abuses continue to pervade Myanmar’s apparel sector. Combined with the threat of employers colluding with the military to keep workers quiet, this is a uniquely hostile environment in which to work.

‘Despite these threats to their livelihoods – and often their lives – workers continue to fight for their rights. But brands – and their home states – must do more to avoid being complicit in these abuses. We need to see stronger corporate commitments to heightened human rights due diligence, and where this is impossible, responsible exits from the country.

Regulation like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is essential to drive this approach by business, by ensuring sustainable, competitive supply chains built on decent work and respect for workers, rather than business models built on abuse in Myanmar.’

One garment worker at the Kittenish Knitting Garment Factory* described the impact of often forced overtime and unsafe travel:

‘I had to work overtime continuously. I can’t refuse even [if] I am tired… if we are sick in the factory, we are not allowed to go back [home]. If it is late [at] 12 o'clock at night, we can't go home... [and] we have to sleep in the factory... We're running ourselves ragged.’

LPP S.A responded to BHRRC’s request for information, outlining the extent to which it is addressing allegations, while reporting that four of the factories where abuses were alleged are not in its supply chain.

Evidence also shows that human rights due diligence measures like audits are still failing to identify abuses, and BHRRC has also tracked cases of workers allegedly being coached or even intimidated and silenced ahead of labour inspections.

Brands continuing to source from the country must ensure that high risk abuses are addressed. This includes working with suppliers to ensure the provision of safe transportation to and from work, and maintaining fair purchasing practices that address the prolific allegations of unsafe working conditions, low wages and forced overtime as the norm for the women toiling in Myanmar’s apparel factories.

Notes to editors

* = As reported by Myanmar Labour News

For more information or to arrange an interview or briefing, please contact Stuart Fowkes: fowkes@business-humanrights.org | +44 7974 736802

Further reference: Falling out of Fashion: Garment worker abuse under military rule in Myanmar

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre is an international NGO that tracks the human rights impacts of companies across the globe.

Myanmar garment worker allegation tracker: Through collaboration with partners and allies inside and outside Myanmar, BHRRC is monitoring the significant increase in labour and human rights abuses of garment workers across the country since the military takeover.

This press release includes a summary of the latest allegations, with links to individual cases. BHRRC is able to provide more examples of allegations, alongside the factories and international buyers they are linked to, upon further request.