By Yoon Sat - Nov 13, 2024
As prices continue to rise, workers are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, especially as there has been no change to the basic minimum wage. Instead, only a 1,000 kyat increase in the subsidies has been granted twice in succession.
“It’s not enough. Prices are gradually going up all the time. The increase only amounts to about 2,000 kyats a day, or around 60,000 kyats a month, which doesn’t help. Just for rent, we pay 65,000 kyats for two people,” one worker explained.
In Myanmar, the minimum daily wage of 4,800 kyats, set in 2018, has not been revised. With the rising inflation and soaring prices since the military takeover, low-wage workers who earn just 600 kyats per hour and 4,800 kyats per day are facing financial pressures up to three to five times greater, according to labor activists.
“Wages may have gone up, but prices go up as well. It doesn’t make a difference. We have to cut back. There’s no way to save. What we send home and the expenses we use ourselves don’t match what we earn. Prices are also rising drastically for essential items like rice and cooking oil. A can of oil that used to be 3,000 kyats now costs 5,000. Even if wages increase, constant price hikes make it hard to get by. It’s just enough to eat, but we can’t even buy clothes. With prices rising, all our money goes just toward food,” said a female factory worker.
Currently, even though basic industrial workers are earning around 400,000 kyats a month including overtime, most are only receiving around 300,000 kyats, which is insufficient for their living expenses.
“The minimum wage was set in 2018 and has not been revised since then. Normally, it should be reviewed every two years. Now it’s already 2024, and there’s been no change except for a slight increase in the allowance. The basic minimum wage of 4,800 kyats is not enough to live on. Instead of just increasing the allowance, the essential minimum wage itself should be raised,” said a labor rights activist.
In 2018, Myanmar’s minimum wage was set at 4,800 kyats per day for an 8-hour workday, applied uniformly without distinction by region or type of work. At that time, there were already calls for the minimum wage to be increased to 5,600 kyats. Now, six years later, as prices have surged to unprecedented levels, there are demands for a daily wage of 10,000 kyats. However, the military council has kept the daily wage at 4,800 kyats, only increasing the allowance by 1,000 kyats twice.
