As the COVID-19 pandemic slams Myanmar’s manufacturing sector, the European Union (EU) will contribute EUR 5 million to factory workers who have lost their jobs.

Since the start of the pandemic, at least 40 garment factories have closed and more than 25,000 workers have lost their jobs. Indeed, the EU estimates that 350,000 of the roughly 700,000 garment workers are at risk being laid off or being suspended without pay. The majority of these workers are female, and the EU says most of the payments will be provided to women. It will begin issuing these payments in the form of Wave Money transfers in May. Payments will range from 75,000 to 125,000 kyats.

The EU fund could be as much of an economic benefit to Myanmar as a humanitarian one. As the pandemic has stalled land trade and closed trade routes inside some of Myanmar’s biggest export partners, the otherwise booming garment industry has taken a serious blow. However, even before the pandemic, worker unrest was possibly the industry’s greatest challenge, with workers routinely holding strikes and demonstrations to demanding higher pay and greater protections against their employers. Protecting and sustaining the garment industry’s labor base will be crucial for the industry’s recovery when markets finally return to normal.

The government has also introduced an MMK 100 billion “COVID-19 fund” to provide emergency low-interest loans to businesses in the hardest-hit industries, including garment manufacturing. Government officials have also reportedly considered accepting money from the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank and other multinational finance groups.