Myanmar migrant workers fleeing China’s Yunnan without pay

Myanmar migrant workers fleeing China’s Yunnan without pay
Chinese national flags flying on the border between Kokang and China’s Nansan township in Lincang, southwest China’s Yunnan province. Photo: AFP
Chinese national flags flying on the border between Kokang and China’s Nansan township in Lincang, southwest China’s Yunnan province. Photo: AFP

Migrant workers returning to Myanmar from China’s Yunnan province because of coronavirus fears are walking away from their jobs without receiving the pay owed to them, as their Chinese employers try to discourage them from leaving, RFA reported.

Nearly 1,000 have crossed the border at Myanmar’s Chinshwehaw town since Jan. 28, with around 350 crossing each day at Laukkaing, both in Myanmar’s Kokang Self-Administered Zone, sources say, adding that most had been employed in chili and eggplant plantations in remote areas of Yunnan.

Some are leaving without receiving their salary or money they have saved, because their bosses do not want them to leave, a resident of Yesagyo, a town in Myanmar’s Magway Division near the border, told RFA’s Myanmar Service in an interview.

More news from Mizzima
May 22, 2026
Young people in some townships in Yangon are worried about arrests related to forced military...
May 21, 2026
A military column advancing through southern Budalin Township has arrested 15 local residents...
May 20, 2026
Nearly 6,500 residents have been forced to flee their homes in southern Pauk Township, Magway...
May 19, 2026
A heavily armed military column comprising roughly 350 troops has occupied strategic locations...