By Hsu Latt Phyu - Nov 08, 2023

After the Military Council’s Ministry of Labor decided to pay 1,000 kyats per day as an additional allowance in addition to the local minimum wage of 4,800 kyats, the employers are calculating the workers' overtime wages based on the minimum wage of 4,800 kyats but the social security fee is being cut back to 5,800 kyats, according to the workers.

"30,000 kyats is nothing but only 2 days of housing expenses. Nothing has changed. If the minimum wage is increased to 5,800 kyats, the OT fee should too. But not in this case. They pay 1,000 kyats as a subsidy. But the social security is paid with the minimum wage of 5,800 kyats. The employee 2% and the employer 3%, so that we have to pay more than 3,000 kyats," said a skilled worker.

"Prior to this setting, as the workers protested and demanded, some factories pay 5,600 and 6,000 kyats. When the Ministry of Labor announced 4,800 plus 1,000 kyats per month, those who gave 5,600 kyats raise 200 kyats, and those who gave 6,000 kyats reduced 200 kyats. The overtime wages was calculated based on 4,800 kyats," said the worker.

Last October, the Military Council’s Ministry of Labor issued an additional 1,000 kyats raise, and informed that the overtime wages should be calculated based on 4,800 kyats only.

Therefore, without changing the current minimum wage of 4,800 kyats, workers should be considered entitled to a subsidy of 30,000 kyats.

However, in some factories, they were not allowed to benefit the 30,000 kyat increased by the ministry, and were neutralized with their previous benefits. The workers said that due to the reduction of professional fees, there was no significant increase in the amount in the salaries. 

They said that the increase of 1,000 kyat per day has never helped the workers due to the further increase in commodity prices. Instead, local labor activists and trade union leaders have demand an increase of 10,000 kyats.