"J-Land Myanmar Garment Factory Reduces Wages According to Instructions", 6 July 2024

The J-Land Myanmar Garment Factory in the Wat Thara Industrial Zone has increased the daily wage, but the workers are concerned about their rights because the reduction was made according to the government's instructions.

“The wages that were already set last May and increased began to be paid that month. The government instructed not to exceed the minimum wage set, so the factory asked the workers to sign a document stating that the daily wage increase would be 4,800 as originally agreed,” a worker explained.

Paying a daily wage higher than the current amount is not a violation of the law, but Section 12 (b) of Chapter 7 (Obligations of Employers) of the Minimum Wage Law states that “the minimum wage may be paid in excess of the minimum wage set by law.”

In early July, the factory asked workers to sign a document accepting the reduction in wages, but the garment workers did not sign it. The factory reportedly paid workers a daily wage of 5,800 to 7,500 baht depending on their skill level. The workers said that since then, the daily wage has been reduced to 4,800 baht according to government instructions, and the excess is considered a support wage.

“The daily wage is also divided into support wages (pillars). The OT is also divided in the same way. The workers do not believe in this division. The factory divided the regular daily wage of 40,000 baht into such pillars, but now it is 5,000/10,000...

After the increase in wages, the change to a support wage also occurred at KINGSRICH (MYANMAR) FASHION CO,LTD Garment in Shwe Pyi Thar Industrial Zone last month. In addition, the military council arrested and prosecuted entrepreneurs who posted on social media about the increase in wages in June.

Labor activist Ma Ma Aye (not her real name) said that the factory needs to carefully coordinate with the WCC members to implement the division of wages.

“If the WCC is properly secured and implemented, there will be no problem. The current employers may also divide the wages due to the current problems. However, it is unacceptable to reduce the amount of money that workers have been paid,” she said.

The J-Land Myanmar garment factory...employs around 1,000 workers on seven production lines. The workers say that the factory has a WCC group but no factory labor union.

[Translation via Google Translate]