By Min Ni Kyaw - May 06, 2025
Workers say that the Myanmar Pou Chen shoe factory, which manufacture footwear for the world-renowned Adidas brand, has been giving out production bonuses but also deducting income tax.
“They do give a production bonus. We have to work about 80 overtime hours. Only then do workers earn around 400,000 kyats. But from that, they deduct it as income tax. Qe only received around 370,000 kyats in April even with more than 60 overtime hours and the Thingyan bonus,” workers said.
In March, the production bonus was raised from 30,000 to 60,000 kyats depending on productivity after factory workers demanded a daily wage increase to 13,000 kyats for an 8-hour workday, according to workers.
The factory stated that the bonus was given to reduce worker turnover, increase production, and meet standards. Workers said that since the increase was provided as a bonus and not as a base salary increment, the actual wages varied among workers.
“A bonus is given based on how much qw can produce. We want the base salary to be increased. Right now, the daily wage is only 7,233 kyats with all the allowances combined. It wasn’t even 400,000 kyats when we received our recent salary. Other factories have officially increased daily wages to around 10,000 kyats after Thingyan. We want the same. Ours is the lowest among all the factories,” they said.
Although other factories in Myanmar have been raising wages, workers say the Myanmar Pou Chen factory has not done so, and instead has been extracting more labor from workers for years. Workers requested the WCC group within the factory to negotiate for a wage increase, but factory officials only slightly increased the amount under the name of a production bonus.
The grievances and hardships faced by the workers have not surfaced although Adidas brand representatives frequently interview and inspect them, according to the workers.
Workers also said that queuing at ATMs has become an additional burden as the factory pays salaries through bank cards, and they are struggling to pay for dormitory fees, house rent, and loan repayments.
Over 4,000 workers are employed at the factory, and its headquarters is located in Taiwan. The factory is situated on Kyaung Kone Road, Thadukan Industrial Zone, Shwe Pyi Thar Township, Yangon.
