Know Your Legal Shield: 5 Myanmar Labor Law 2013 Rights That Protect You Starting Today

Ma Hnin Si works as an HR assistant at a garment factory near Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone. Last month, her factory manager told a new seamstress that her probation period would be six months, during which she would receive only 70% salary and no Social Security Board coverage. Ma Hnin Si felt something was wrong but stayed silent because she did not want to embarrass her manager in front of other staff. The seamstress accepted the terms without question. Three months later, the seamstress injured her hand on a cutting machine. With no SSB registration, she had no medical coverage. The factory faced a labor complaint. Ma Hnin Si realized her silence had cost a worker her health and the company its reputation. She told her friend: I thought keeping quiet was loyalty. It turned out keeping quiet was the most expensive mistake I ever made. If she had known five basic provisions of the 2013 Labor Law, she could have gently corrected her manager and protected everyone in that room.