In the first week of June, Global Wealth Manufacture informed her that she was eligible to receive cash assistance from “Myan Ku”. She struggled to survive in her small room on minimal food supply, with two overdue rent bills. She bought a mask, using the last of the money in her pocket. Her desire to go job-hunting forced her out of isolation despite her anxiety about the virus. She began to search for jobs but became disillusioned when no call came from employers. She could not return to her grandmother as bus travel was stopped as a result of pandemic travel restrictions. This was not enough to get severance pay or compensation when, along with tens of thousands of other workers, she suddenly found herself without an income. Ma Thazin Oo had been working almost two years at the factory when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the factory shut. This allowed her to send some money home to her grandmother every month. Her minimum monthly income was a little over a hundred thousand kyats (US$73) but she could earn over two hundred thousand kyats (US$146) by working overtime. She enjoyed her job and appreciated her co-workers who shared knowledge with her and provided on-the-job training. She found employment in the cutting and pattern unit at Global Wealth Manufacture. Two years ago, she left her home and her job at a grocery store to get work in Yangon. Both her parents passed away when she was little. Ma Thazin Oo, 26 years old, grew up with her grandmother in Tharmanya, Kayin State. Ma Thazin Oo needs to care for her elderly grandmother. This story outlines the work of the European Union Nexus Response for Myanmar, a fund managed by UNOPS, which is supporting a programme to provide cash to workers in the garment industry. In Myanmar, the UN Country Team, representing more than 20 agencies, is undertaking both development and humanitarian work that is impacting on the everyday lives of people. We face a colossal test which demands decisive, coordinated and innovative action from all, for all.’’ ‘’Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that ending the COVID-19 pandemic everywhere is both a moral imperative and a matter of enlightened self-interest.
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