Since the COVID-19 outbreak occurred in China, the infectious disease has brought concerns to employers and employees of small and medium-sized enterprises, especially CMP (Cut-Make-Pack) garment factories with high numbers of labourers.
About 20 garment factories, out of 200 in Yangon Region, have shut down, while others reduced working hours.
However, a silver lining for workers occurred on Tuesday when a cargo plane carrying some 15 tonnes of raw material from China landed in Yangon.
Also, a resumption of border trade with China, which has spiralled upward in trade volume since early March, has encouraged both employers and employees.
The import of raw materials for CMP factories gained speed in mid-March, from five to seven trucks per day in mid-February to 30 trucks per day in early March, to 70 trucks per day by mid-March.
This shows that the cooperation between business personnel and authorities from the two countries has resulted in preventing layoffs, job losses and the collapse of the economy.
This achievement reflects how we can tackle challenges through effective collective efforts, and also revitalize employers and employees of labour-intensive industries.
Since the outbreak began in China, authorities have been keeping a watch on factories abroad affected by COVID-19, taking note of the supply chain disruptions in China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, labour authorities have made necessary preparations to tackle the potential challenges that may befall employers and employees of the labour-intensive garment industry.
After completing assessments on possible economic impacts, the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry, the Ministry of Commerce and other ministries worked together on prevention plans.
To lessen the impact on the country’s economy, the government will reduce tax and interest rates so that people will not suffer, as well as work to prevent unemployment, to continue operating factories and to reduce the harm done to the economy.
Loans with minimum interest rates and tax exemption plans will be available for the most vulnerable businesses in the CMP sector, along with hotels and tourism and SMEs, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the 2 per cent advance tax on export items will be exempted until the end of this financial year.
We are confident that the effective measures taken by the government and people would ensure that our country will not be jeopardized by the global pandemic._GNLM
