On October 14, 2025, the National Committee for Setting the Minimum Wage of Myanmar (the “National Committee”) announced an additional allowance to the daily minimum wage rate for workers through Notification No. 1/2025 (the “Notification”).

In principle, under Section 5(h) of the Minimum Wage Law 2013, the minimum wage must be reviewed and amended at least once every two years. Accordingly, following the enactment of the law, the National Committee set the minimum wage at 3,600 Kyats per day (450 Kyats per hour) on August 28, 2015, and increased it to 4,800 Kyats per day (600 Kyats per hour) on May 14, 2018.

However, due to the impact of COVID-19 and the current political situation in Myanmar, no formal review or amendment has been made, and the minimum wage rate of 4,800 Kyats per day (the “Basic Daily Wage”) has remained unchanged since May 14, 2018.

Although no new minimum wage has been officially set, the National Committee announced an additional allowance of 1,000 Kyats per day to the existing Basic Daily Wage through notifications issued in 2023, 2024, and 2025, including the Notification. Each time, this allowance was added to the Basic Daily Wage, resulting in increased total daily wages as shown below:

In the absence of a formal review and amendment of the minimum wage, it appears that the National Committee has attempted to raise the daily minimum wage by introducing additional allowances. Therefore, although the minimum daily wage has effectively increased to 7,800 Kyats, the Basic Daily Wage of 4,800 Kyats remains the base rate for calculating overtime pay, as well as pay for work performed on weekly rest days and public holidays.

It should also be noted that the newly increased minimum daily wage of 7,800 Kyats does not apply to family-owned self-managed businesses or small enterprises employing no more than 10 workers.

The information in this article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and regulations may change, and interpretations may differ. Readers are advised to consult a qualified legal professional before making any decisions based on this content.

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