Myanmar minimum wage could be set as low as $3.20 per day

A national committee has concluded that the national daily minimum wage could be set as low as 3,600 kyats, or $3.20, according to the Myanmar Times.

The national minimum wage committee, made up of labor and employer representatives and government officials, reportedly made the decision on Wednesday, after two days of talks.

The figure, if accepted by parliament, will be far lower than Thailand, where the daily wage is $9 and the Philippines, where it is $10.

Garment industry bosses had demanded the wage be lowered to 2,500 kyats while labor activists had asked for 4,000 kyats, the Times reported.

But U Aye Myint, Minister for Labor and the committee chair, told the newspaper the minimum wage would be between 3,200 and 4,000, declining to confirm the exact figure.

The proposal will go through months of consultation and later, parliamentary debates.

Photo / Michael Gunther / Wikicommons

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