Nov 07, 2008 (DVB)-Over 200 workers from a fish processing plant at Arakan state capital Sittwe went on strike yesterday in protest of excessive working hours imposed by their employer, according to local residents.

Workers from Yamin Thaw fish processing plant run by a Chinese businessman in the Arakan capital went on a strike after the management increased their workload and working hours from the end of last month.

"Before, workers were assigned different working hours; from 7am till noon and from noon to 5pm, but recently the factory owners applied a new working hour system which starts at 7am and goes on until 5pm," said the resident.

"Some workers became exhausted after they were put under the heavy workload for some days and they started taking sick leaves prompting the factory owner to cut their salaries."

He added the tension has now decreased between the workers and their employer as negotiations have been conducted to solve the dispute.

Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew