Irrawaddy-Dec 25
A mass exodus of young workers triggered by the Conscription Law is severely impacting Myanmar’s garment industry, with factories unable to accept orders due to labor shortages. Garment factories are reporting a 20% drop in production as recruiting new workers and finding skilled labor becomes increasingly difficult. “The worker shortage is a constant challenge,” said one garment factory owner. “The industry has reverted to its early days, when most workers were involved in farming. They would leave en masse during the planting and harvest seasons, only returning to factories after the harvest. It seems the industry has regressed 15 years.” Rising living costs coupled with forced military recruitment have forced many garment workers to seek jobs abroad. “Many staff, especially skilled workers, have left, seriously impacting production,” explained another factory owner. The labor shortage means more overtime for the existing workforce. However, excessive overtime seriously impacts their productivity, resulting in shrinking production and increased costs, factory owners explained. One factory owner said: “If a customer places an order and we can’t accept it, they might not seek our business in future. But we face huge difficulty finding laborers. A buyer who, say, wants to place an order for 500,000 pieces will usually want to do business with a single factory rather than split the order among 10 factories. This means small factories can’t get orders now.” He added that electricity rationing is also taking a toll on the garment sector. As a result, around 60 percent of small factories that employ fewer than 500 workers have ceased operations, he added. A garment worker in Yangon’s Shwepyithar Industrial Zone told The Irrawaddy that many skilled workers had quit at his factory, forcing the owner to fill the vacancies with raw recruits. “The work rate has declined, and experienced workers have to do more overtime. I heard that two male employees from my factory have been snatched [by the regime for conscription] lately.” Workers are reluctant to do overtime amid reports of junta officials grabbing young men off the street for conscription. However, experienced workers are being forced to do overtime, with heavier workloads. Read more at:
