Over a hundred workers at garment factories in Shwepyithar Industrial Zone have been protesting to demand better wages since February 2015. The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA) - to which the factories belong - and the Myanmar government issued a statement on the strikes, warning that they would negotiate, but that they would take legal action in cases where the law has been breached. At the beginning of March the police arrested at least 20 striking workers and charged 14 of them with rioting.