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Myanmar’s garment industry is taking steps in the right direction amid political unrest
Myanmar’s
garment industry at a glance
Myanmar’s garment industry has grown rapidly since 2011, after the
country’s military government stepped down and foreign investment flooded the
country. In 2014, revenues from the country’s
garment industry reached approximately $1.5 billion—nearly double what they
were just three years earlier. This growth is expected to continue as more
factories are set up around the country to support the growing demand. Production
is centred around Yangon, the country’s biggest industrial district, with some
factories also located in Bago and Pathein.
Labour issues
in Myanmar’s garment industry
Myanmar’s garment industry faces many
serious challenges. While
the country has shown significant progress on civil and political rights, its long history of political upheaval and unrest means the country’s
workplace standards are seriously underdeveloped. Garment factories in Myanmar face high
risks for violations, including low wages, long working hours, repression of
union members, child labour and poor relationships between employers and
unions. An estimated 90% of the workers in
Myanmar are female and gender-based harassment and violence are common.
A particularly worrying development is
the outbreak of violence against the Rohingya people in the Rakhine state of
Myanmar in August 2017 when militants attacked government forces. While the Rohingya
crisis is a serious concern, at present there does not seem to be a direct link
to the garment sector, as no garment factories are present in the Rakhine state
and Rohingya refugees are not allowed to work.
What Fair Wear is doing
Fair Wear has been active in Myanmar since 2016. We’ve seen a slow but steady increase in Fair Wear member brands sourcing from factories in Myanmar. Currently, 13 Fair Wear member brands source from 22 factories in the country.
Since there’s such a high-risk of labour violations, we have an Enhanced Monitoring Programme in place for Myanmar that requires Fair Wear member brands active in the country to take additional measures. This programme focuses on promoting freedom of association and improving communication between workers and factory management. Establishing a living wage and preventing child labour are also key concerns. Meanwhile, our existing Fair Wear Workplace Education Programme (WEP) module in Myanmar continues to train managers, supervisors and workers on fair working conditions and raises awareness about the Fair Wear complaints helpline available for workers to voice their concerns. We are also closely monitoring the Rohingya situation and any possible additional measures that the European Union may impose as a result.
Interested in calculating labour minute value and product costing for this country? Check out our country calculators here.