Myanmar Spring Chronicle – May Day Viewpoint
MoeMaKa, May 2, 2025
Workers’ Rights in Myanmar Amid Civil War and Dark Times
As the world marks International Workers’ Day on May 1st, known as May Day, the realities facing workers in Myanmar bring serious issues to light—minimum wages, workplace safety, and migrant labor rights. Since the military coup, armed resistance and nationwide conflicts have overshadowed labor rights and employment opportunities, burying them deep under political turmoil and war.
After the coup, the military junta began treating labor unions and workers’ rights activists as political enemies. Arrests and repression followed, with wage protests labeled as political unrest. This has significantly weakened workers’ rights.
In the early days following the coup, workers were at the forefront of peaceful protests in Yangon. Large numbers joined protests at places like Hledan Junction in Kamayut Township. In response, the junta targeted labor unions, civil society organizations advocating for workers, and union federations—classifying them as political opponents. This led to surveillance, arrests, and imprisonment.
Following the brutal suppression of peaceful protests, activists—including those advocating for labor rights—were forced into hiding or fleeing to border areas and neighboring countries due to the risk of arrest and long prison sentences.
While labor activism is not inherently political, the junta has lumped labor activists into its list of enemies, reducing the momentum for wage increases, better working conditions, and labor rights campaigns.
Although the Myanmar kyat has lost two-thirds of its value since the coup, the minimum wage has only slightly increased—from 4,800 kyats per day before the coup to just 6,800 kyats today. While the pre-coup wage equaled about $3 per day, today’s wage barely reaches half of that. With prices for essential goods rising, workers can now afford less than half of what they once could with their daily wages. Inflation isn’t only tied to currency depreciation—it is also driven by tariffs and fees at trade and transport checkpoints, increasing prices beyond fair exchange rates.
The consequences of the coup—foreign company withdrawals, the loss of trade privileges and tax exemptions, economic sanctions, and electricity shortages—have led business owners to cut wages to maintain profits.
As corruption, warfare, and human rights violations rise, companies that prioritize profits over ethics and labor rights have become more common. These companies disregard dignity, fairness, and workers’ rights, focusing solely on their bottom line. In sectors like garment manufacturing, which employs large numbers of workers, international companies concerned with labor standards now hesitate to place orders in Myanmar. On one hand, continuing to place orders may inadvertently support the junta through foreign currency flows; on the other hand, halting orders risks depriving workers of jobs and livelihoods.
These issues affect domestic workers, but the situation for migrant workers—particularly those in neighboring countries—is also critical.
Following the coup, economic collapse, withdrawal of international aid, and ongoing war have drastically reduced job opportunities, pushing many to migrate illegally to Thailand and Malaysia. Every day, hundreds to thousands enter Thailand illegally, often paying smugglers millions of kyats. This has led to frequent tragedies—arrests, deadly road accidents, and killings by trafficking gangs along border areas.
These tragedies are driven by a lack of job opportunities and low wages inside the country. Now, on top of that, the reactivation of military conscription laws since March 2024 has caused a surge in both legal and illegal migration, as many try to escape forced conscription.
There are currently an estimated 4 to 6 million Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand. However, effective support for their rights—wages, working conditions, documentation—remains absent. The military regime has not engaged in meaningful government-level negotiations on migrant workers’ issues. In contrast, during the 2016–2020 NLD government, there were efforts at government-level dialogue to address these concerns—now viewed as a golden period of the past.
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