Labour Crunch Hits Myanmar’s Garment Factories As Workers Shun Low Wages

By Vijian Paramasivam

PHNOM PENH, Oct 9 (Bernama) -- Around 500 garment producers in Myanmar are struggling with labour shortage that could slow output in one of the country’s leading export industries, a trade body has warned.

Secretary General of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Daw Khine Khine Nwe, said cut-make-pack (CMP) factories are operating with fewer than 800,000 workers, far below what they need, The Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Thursday.

“Worker migration results in shrinking domestic labour forces, therefore, many factories genuinely need workers. There are many jobs available at these factories.

“These factories and workshops are not fully staffed. I would say the number of workers needed is far greater than the number of workers displaced from the factories that have closed,” she said.

The shortage comes as wages stagnate and employers struggle to find skilled hands, reported the state media.

The World Bank, in its report “Myanmar Garment Industry 2023: Resilience Amid Constraints,” said more than 90 per cent of Myanmar’s garment factories work on the CMP model.            About 85 per cent of the workforce are women, many of them young rural migrants.

The World Bank also cited labour migration, power shortages, political instability, limited access to cash in both kyat and foreign currency, and logistical constraints as persistent obstacles in the industry.

Alongside Vietnam which is the world’s third-largest garment exporter after China and Bangladesh, Myanmar is one of Southeast Asia’s notable garment-producing bases.

-- BERNAMA