Workers at the Chan Ray Adidas shoe factory in Hlaing Tharyar Township, Yangon Region, have found the factory’s wage increase offer falls far short of their expectations. Over 6,000 workers began protesting on May 14, demanding a daily wage of 12,000 kyats. However, the factory has only agreed to increase wages to approximately 8,500 kyats per day. On the fourth day of protests, representatives from the military council’s Ministry of Labor, factory management, and alleged worker representatives held negotiations.
During these negotiations, it was stated that the demanded increase to 12,000 kyats per day was not possible as it would violate state minimum wage regulations. Instead, the factory offered to add some additional allowances, bringing the total daily wage to around 8,500 kyats. According to workers, they had demanded a direct daily wage of 12,000 kyats, excluding government subsidies. However, worker representatives signed an agreement without obtaining consent from the majority of workers. The agreement notably includes a clause prohibiting protests for one year and does not include any increase in overtime pay. The nine worker representatives who signed the agreement have become unreachable, with their phones switched off.
Under the current wage structure approved by the factory, workers receive a basic monthly salary of just over 200,000 kyats, which can reach around 380,000 kyats with overtime work. However, the factory is currently not allowing overtime work, limiting workers’ monthly income to between 200,000 and 250,000 kyats. Workers have expressed that this wage level is entirely insufficient given current market prices and living costs. The Chan Ray Adidas shoe factory in Hlaing Tharyar Township is Taiwanese-owned and employs a total of 6,269 workers.
