Garment industry should accept minimum wage

15 July 2015
Garment industry should accept minimum wage
Myanmar girls work in a garment factory at Hlaing Thar Yar Industrial Zone in Yangon, Myanmar, 10 July 2015. Photo: Lynn Bo Bo/EPA

The Myanmar government has advised garment bosses to agree to a proposed national minimum wage on a trial basis local media reported according to the fibre2fashion website on 14 July.
Representatives of garment manufacturers have condemned the suggestion that they pay workers at least Kyat 3,600 ($3.20) for an eight-hour day, with about 30 threatening to shut down factories.
But Myanmar labour minister U Aye Myint was quoted in the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar as saying that the amount was suitable “given the current situation of the country”.
It can also be amended in future, he added.
The new minimum wage would still make Myanmar’s garment workers some of the region’s lowest paid. It also needs to secure parliamentary approval.