![\"Schoolchildren,](\"http:\/\/gethinchamberlain-com.stackstaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Myanmar-5.jpg\")
<\/a>Schoolchildren, Kwin Ka Lay village, Kayin State. They were not involved in the report.<\/p><\/div>\n
The legal minimum wage in Myanmar is 3,600 kyat (\u00a32.12) for an eight-hour day \u2013 equivalent to 26p an hour. Workers in all the factories investigated worked six-day weeks. Labour NGOs argued when the minimum wage was set that a minimum of 6,000 kyat a day was required for a basic standard of living.<\/p>\n
All the factories investigated employed workers below the age of 18. Several workers at factories supplying Lonsdale and New Look stated in detailed interviews that they had started work at the age of 14.<\/p>\n
A German brand that sourced from the same factory as New Look reported that it had found \u201cmisconducts\u201d at the factory, including evidence of child employment. Researchers said the factory subsequently dismissed all workers below the age of 18. But one of the workers, asked her age by the researchers, replied: \u201cDo you want to know my real age or my age at the factory?\u201d A worker at another factory told researchers: \u201cWhen buyers come into the factory the child workers are being told not to come to work that day.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were also reports of several workers below the age of 15 at a factory supplying H&M and Muji. H&M confirmed that it had found two 14-year-olds but that an inspection in November found no one under 14.<\/p>\n
Researchers found wages below the full legal minimum at factories supplying Sports Direct, Henri Lloyd, New Look, H&M, Muji, Pierre Cardin and Karrimor (owned by Sports Direct).<\/p>\n
The lowest wages of just 13p an hour were found in factories supplying H&M, Karrimor, Muji and Pierre Cardin. The day rate for those workers was \u00a31.06. Myanmar\u2019s labour laws permit factories to pay newer workers at reduced rates.<\/p>\n
Workers say they struggle to live on such low wages. Thiri and Yadana, who both worked at a factory supplying Lonsdale, said they could only afford to live in a makeshift hut in a squatter area without electricity or running water.<\/p>\n
Thiri said: \u201cThe upside of living here is that we don\u2019t need to spend money on rent which makes it easier to get by.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Myanmar\u2019s factories act, workers should not be expected to do more than 60 hours a week, including overtime, but workers reported longer hours in factories supplying New Look, Sports Direct, Henri Lloyd, Karrimor and H&M. Forced overtime was reported by workers in factories supplying H&M, Muji, Sports Direct and Henri Lloyd, while there were reports of unpaid overtime at factories supplying New Look, Pierre Cardin and H&M.<\/p>\n
Factory owners in Myanmar say they are under intense pressure from brands to cut costs. Daw Khine Khine Nwe, secretary of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, urged UK shoppers to think about how budget clothes are produced. \u201cWe are asking the buyer to increase the rate and we\u2019ll share it with the worker. But they\u2019re not willing.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an interview with the Observer in Yangon last year, she said: \u201cThe consumer also needs to understand \u2013 the consumer asks for better quality but when it comes to the price they always look for the cheapest one. Which do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
The low labour costs in Myanmar have encouraged international brands to switch production from more expensive countries and between 2010 and 2014 exports tripled to \u00a3787m. There are now more than 400 factories in the country, employing 350,000 people, 90% of them women.<\/p>\n
In its report, Somo urges the companies to pay workers a living wage: \u201cClothing companies are constantly on the lookout for production locations that can make clothes quickly and at low costs,\u201d it says. \u201cOver the past few years, Myanmar has rapidly become a popular sourcing destination for the garment industry due to a huge pool of cheap labour and favourable import and export tariffs.<\/p>\n
However, working conditions in this industry are far from acceptable. Labour rights violations are rife. Asian suppliers are setting up shop in Myanmar in an unseemly \u2018race to the bottom\u2019, pushed by foreign buyers that are eager to secure the cheapest possible prices.\u201d<\/p>\n