Myanmar’s National Minimum Wage Committee has formally proposed a daily minimum wage for the country of K3,600, or $3.20.
The announcement, published in the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar today, says that the salary rate, “regardless of place and type of work, is set at K 3,600 for an eight-hour day as a basis for all workers across the country.”
That’s less than $0.50 an hour.
According to the announcement, the proposal doesn’t apply to small businesses that have fewer than 15 employees or “family businesses on a manageable scale.”
The news doesn’t come as a big surprise. Some officials from the committee, which brings together stakeholders from the government, labor representatives and employers, disclosed the proposed figure to the Myanmar Times last week following a year or so of discussions.
But now that the formal proposal has been made, the committee will open up a two-week consultation period before the turning to lawmakers in parliament.
Though lower than other countries in the region, the new wage represents a rise of about $2 a day and brings a measure of standardization as the figure will apply across the board.
However, it is still somewhat lower than the K5,000 that many garment workers were asking for during May protests.
Photo / Wikicommons / Michael Gunther
