Titan Tree Garment Workers in Yangon Report Threats Amid Wage Dispute

Workers at the Tha Shu factory, renamed Titan Tree Myanmar Co., Ltd., in Hlaing Tharyar began pressing for modest wage increases on Feb. 19 and say management warned that "daily wages and other benefits would not be paid if the protest exceeded three days." Reporting dated Feb. 25 records workers accusing management of "secretly changing ownership and relocating equipment overnight to avoid negotiation."

Myanmarlabournews says employees submitted 12 demands that included an official announcement of any ownership change, an increase in the daily wage from 11,000 kyats to 12,000 kyats, an overtime rate of 2,200 kyats, and an attendance bonus paid in two installments of 15 days each. The list also demanded that attendance bonuses and grade allowances not be deducted for leave days, that grade allowances be increased by level, establishment of a clinic, cleaning of sanitation facilities, and that overtime on public holidays be paid at double the legal rate.

The dispute unfolded as a six-day protest period during which management reportedly told workers it "could not concede to the 12 demands submitted by workers." Negotiations were held on the evening of Feb. 26, and on Feb. 27 a Federation of General Workers Myanmar (FGWM) official confirmed workers returned to the workplace after reaching agreement on nearly all points, Myanmarlabournews (author Myo Thein; translated by Kyaw Kyaw Win) reported.

A worker quoted in that report offered the clearest terms of the settlement: "We can say the factory conceded to almost all demands. We will not receive daily wages for the six days of protest, but we were able to negotiate a subsidy of 20,000 kyats. It was agreed that the demands will take effect from the date the new contracts are signed." The subsidy figure and the agreement that changes only become active once new contracts are signed are the concrete outcomes workers will now await.

This negotiation sits against a strained sector backdrop. UNDP’s Stitches of Struggle and Hope notes the garment workforce had halved by January 2022 to an estimated 500,000 workers and current estimates place the core sector at about 400,000 workers. Coverage of Myanmar’s labour landscape has documented severe risks: the BHRC tracker recorded a rise in abuses after the military takeover, Sourcingjournal highlighted a March 2021 case in which a worker, Zaw Zaw Htwe, was shot during protests, and South China Morning Post reporting cites security forces having "shot hundreds of people" with "more than 200" killed in post-coup reprisals.

What remains unverified in the public reporting is an on-the-record statement from Titan Tree management, the formal identity of any new owner named by workers, a full text of the new contracts, and documentary proof of payment of the 20,000 kyats subsidy. The FGWM-confirmed return to work and the worker-stated subsidy are tangible steps, but the settlement’s enforceability will hinge on the signing of new contracts and the documented follow-through on the negotiated terms.