By Yoon Sat - May 07, 2024
According to the workers, some factory owners in Yangon recruited workers with raised wages due to the demand for workers since May Day.
"Some factories are recircuiting with 7,000 kyats or 6,500 kyats daily wages. In other factories, in other factories we see that they are paying 20,000 kyats allowance and 10,000 kyats stipend and attendance bonus have been increased to 20,000 to 30,000," said a trade union member.
These increases were made by some garment factories after the May Day and it is reported that most of the factories have said that they will not raise the daily wages but will recircuit new workers with raise allowances.
Myanmar's 2018 dollar exchange rate was between 1,200 and 1,300 kyats, and the minimum wage set at that time was 4,800 kyats a day. For almost 6 years, until the 2024 when dollar price rose to around 4,000 dollars, employers have been paying only as before.
According to the current Myanmar commodity prices and the currency values, a worker's daily wage should be ten thousand kyats and there are frequent request to raise and adjust the minimum wage rate.
The Solidarity of Trade Unions, Myanmar (STUM) has also requested a to raise the daily wages to 10,000 kyat in their announcement which released on 134th May Day, which fell on May 1.
