Shortage of skilled labor a problem for Myanmar garment industry

Reported by Yadana Oo Translated and Edited by Myint Win Thein + MYA

Recently, due to increasing demand from foreign clients in the garment industry, hundreds of apprentices, at their middle and high school levels, are hired by garment factories in Shwe Paukkan Industrial Zone, Mingaladon Industrial Zone and South Dagon Industrial Zone. Some of the factories are providing their workers with accommodations. “Most of the workers in industrial zones are from small towns and rural areas. Only when workers from other towns are provided with accommodations, they could send back K 15,000 to K 20,000 a month to their families. An average worker in garment factories earns over K 10,000. The worker gets between K 45,000 to 50,000 per month when benefits for regular attendance and overtimes are added to their salaries.  An apprentice earn over K 25,000 in all. Skilled workers often move from low paid jobs to well paid jobs. As a result, most factories face a shortage of skilled workers, and hundreds of apprentices without any knowledge of the industry are hired and trained to get skilled laborers in time of needs,” said an official in south Dagon Industrial Zone. The garment industry is now at its peak of the last three years, and it is facing a shortage of skilled workers despite the hiring of hundred of apprentices. “There has been a shortage of skilled workers in garment industries for some time. This is because foreign firms are investing in the local market due to cheap labor in Myanmar. However,  skilled workers have gone to work in garment industries in neighboring countries as they are paid more there. If garment factories here pay them wages as much as those in Thailand, the skilled workers will not migrate to work there. Workers who are already in Thailand will come back as they do not want to be away from their families. In this way, we will be able to solve the shortage of skilled workers in the garment industry,” said an economist. Although the average basic salary of a worker in the local garment industry increased from K 17,800 in 2004 to K 21,600 in 2005, skilled workers go to work in Thailand as they earn as much as US$ 2 per day there. The salary of skilled workers in local garment industry increased from K 30,000 - K 40,000 in 2006 to over K 50,000 at present.