By Ma Ma Nov 02, 2023
The rise in prices has hit not only the basic people but also the middle class.
The prices of domestically food that people consumed daily rice oil, sweet potato leaves, maple leaves, eggs, and devotional flowers are rising steadily.
But what makes it more difficult for those working domestically is that the minimum wage rate has been allowed to increase by only 1,000 MMK for a day (8) working hours under the title of additional allowance.
Here, the Ministry of Labor’s standing shows that the situation is worse than what the workers expected.
A worker said that while the price of a cup of tea has risen to more than 1,000 MMK, the amount of money given by the Ministry of Labor is keeping a blind eye to the current situations.
In addition, the use of the term "additional support fee" may lead to disputes between employers and employees.
The factory and the workshops are paying by calculate many titles such as the basic wage, overtime wage, attendance bonus and professional fees.
The current calculation of overtime pay is a matter of dispute for workers who only get enough food if they have to work overtime for a whole month.
Domestic Minimum Wage Law was enacted in March, 2013 stipulates the mandatory minimum wage rate for workers in 29th June 2015.
In that provision, it was specified that workers must be paid 450 kyats per hour for 8 hours of work (3600 MMK) per day, regardless of location or type of business in Myanmar.
The ministry also enacted that it is not related to small businesses with less than 15 workers and family-owned businesses in that specification.
In addition, the law stipulates that the minimum wage should be reviewed and prepared once every (2) years so that it does not set a fixed minimum wage and to be in line with rising commodity prices.
Therefore, in 2018, the minimum wage rate was revised for the second time, and the wage for an 8-hour day was increased from 3,600 MMK to 4,800 MMK.
Currently, the time for the third revision has already passed.Therefore, in the third round of revision, the workers expected an increase of between seven thousand and ten thousand kyats to be in line with rising commodity prices.
Currently, due to the ministry's statement, the hope of the workers has disappeared. "It is just a thousand. Also, since it's an additional allowance, isn't there an increase in overtime? I really want to know about the salary at the end of this month. I'm worried about whether overtime pay will be paid at the increased rate," said a garment worker.
Even before the Ministry of Labor announced the increase in additional allowances, some factories have been increasing the minimum wage rate from 5,600 MMK to more than 6,000 MMK.
In this situation, overtime wages are calculated at 4,800 MMK rate. At this time, the Ministry's use of the term "additional allowance" and the increase of only one thousand kyats for a day (8) working hours raises the question of whether employers were consulted in advance.
"The amount raised by the ministry to is less than the rate that the factories are paying before, so that we don't know whom to rely on anymore. The increase rate at the factories and the rate announced by the ministry are about the same, so I wonder if they have consulted in advance," said Ko Tun Tun, a former member of the basic factory union.
In the revision of the minimum wage rate, the law required to be reviewed to make it a rate appropriate to the times, but after the military coup, this was no longer in effect.
In the second revision of the minimum wage rate before the military coup; the employer Labor representatives and officials from the ministry held discussions, survey of workers' daily expenses and revised it several times to revise the law.
Currently, this condition is no longer active and set a rate that favors employers.
"In the past, the proposed rates came out first and forced to pay that rate. Now, the term "additional allowance" is included, so it is as if the additional allowance is given out of goodwill rather than prepared according to the law. Actually, the phrase "additional subsidy" is unnecessary," Ko Tun Tun said.
After the coup d'état, the Ministry of Labor turned a blind eye to the statutory rights of workers.
The basic rights of workers such as holidays, overtime and seasonally entitled wage rates are now employer-dependent benefits.
The daily cost of rice, oil, sweet potato leaves eggs, meat, fish, etc. have risen significantly, but the wages of a domestic worker are not at an adequate rate.
"It is no longer possible to fry a bundle of 1,000 MMK worth sweet potato leaves twice, and buying any vegetables or fruits costs 2,000 to 3,000 MMK for a meal. The daily wage is 4,800 and the additional allowance of 1,000 does not help at all," said a factory worker.
It doesn’t seem like the ministry did not survey or take into account the rising cost of living in the third revision of the minimum wage rate.
The lives of basic workers who are suffering because of commodity prices are reported in the media, but in reality, they are being blinded.
Currently, an ordinary worker has to spend the salary frugally to be enough for a month, and the food crisis of the basic population of the local population is on the verge of starvation.
