Deputy Labor Minister Win Shein visited a factory making shoes for Adidas in Yangon on Monday where thousands of workers are striking for a living wage, only to tell them that he can do nothing for them.
Workers at Tsang Yih Shoe Factory in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township have been staging a sit-in strike since May 14.
The Taiwanese factory is one of the largest Adidas footwear suppliers, employing around 6,800 workers.
Currently, workers are paid just 7,600 kyats a day or less than US$2 at the market rate—a basic wage of 5,200 kyats, plus 2,000 kyats daily allowance, and another 400 kyats for food.
Workers are demanding 12,000 kyats instead.
“The deputy minister and his team came to our factory,” a striking worker said. “After they introduced themselves, they said they could do nothing for us. They told us to go back to work, and that factory management will consider increasing our pay. One employee then asked if that means yes or no. The officials said they can’t tell, and it’s up to factory management. Then they left.”
Management has proposed a 900-kyat increase in their daily allowance.
Workers refused because overtime pay is calculated based on their base wage of 5,200 kyats, not the total, and the allowance increase would mean overtime pay is still calculated based on the base wage.
Myanmar’s official minimum wage of 4,800 kyats for an eight-hour workday has not changed since 2018 despite runaway inflation since the 2021 coup. In 2023, the junta’s National Committee for Setting the Minimum Wage introduced an extra daily allowance of 1,000 kyats for workers in private-sector companies with more than 10 employees, which was increased by another 1,000 kyats last August.
The living wage in Myanmar, by contrast, has been estimated at 12,000–17,000 kyats.
“In other factories, workers earn a minimum of 10,000 kyats plus the daily allowance, and overtime pay is calculated based on their wage,” said a Tsang Yih worker.
“We have decided to continue the strike because we don’t think the 900-kyat increase is worth it,” she added.
Junta soldiers and police gathered outside the factory while the deputy labor minister met with the striking employees but left again in the afternoon. It appears the regime is so far not putting any pressure on the striking workers.
