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Year in review
There was a significant rise in unemployment levels in Myanmar, owing to the effects of the covid-19 pandemic and the fallout from the military coup on 1 February 2021 and the reinstatement of Myanmar to the Financial Action Task Force's blacklist on 21 October 2022. The National Committee for Minimum Wage has issued two notifications (Notification Nos. 1 and 2 of 2023), which have the effect of increasing the minimum wage for all workers in Myanmar to 5,800 kyats per day (specifically, 800 kyats per hour for an eight hour working day plus an additional 1,000 kyats for each day), up from its previous daily level of 4,800 kyats. Apart from the foregoing, there have been no major changes to the prevailing employment laws, regulations or policies. However, it is worth highlighting the following developments and issues faced by employers in Myanmar during the past year.
Rising inflation and the weakening of the Myanmar kyat against the US dollar has forced employers to consider adjusting their existing wage structures for employees. The enforced use of the kyat domestically also means that employers that previously paid salaries in US dollars are forced to pay these salaries in kyats. In our experience, there has also been an increase in employees making requests to receive their salaries and other employment benefits in overseas accounts (and in foreign currencies) wherever possible, which necessitates appropriate structuring to comply with Myanmar laws.
Various disruptions in the banking sector, as well as employee activism against the military junta, led to several novel requests being made of employers, including deferring salary payments to a later date and holding back employees' payment of personal income tax to the Internal Revenue Department (IRD).
