Myanmar

Owners of garment manufacturers in Myanmar are urging the government to intervene in a series of ongoing worker strikes in the country. Representatives of Japanese and South Korean companies are urging the government to help protect their facilities as factory employees maintain a demonstration pushing for an increase in their wages to about US$80 per month. Production in some facilities has been stopped for as long as 2 weeks due to the strikes. (The Irrawaddy)
 
A leader with the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA) says that increasing the country’s minimum wage by as little as 5% would kill the industry. The comments come following a call from the Federation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (FTUM) to raise the minimum wage in Yangon to just under US$5 per day, a move that many industry leaders say would be dangerous as many companies are still building their trust in the country. (Myanmar Business Today)
 
The Yangon regional government says it plans to collect a Value Added Tax (VAT) on cutting, making, and packing (CMP) industries, including garments and footwear, in lieu of a scheme that many see as double taxation. Local leaders say that production facilities are currently taxed both on the imports of raw materials and the export of finished goods and a simpler VAT system would help attract more foreign investment. (Eleven Myanmar)