Labour issues in Burma
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
About 4,720 results (August 2017)
Source/publisher:
Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-21
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
more
Individual Documents
Description:
"Labor and farmers rights activists say they will run in the November election as independent candidates for both Union and regional parliament seats in 11 constituencies in Yangon Region, in a bid to raise their voices in the legislature and bring about change.
Myanmar will hold general elections on Nov. 8 with 97 registered political parties vying for a total of 1,171 parliamentary seats. Yangon has a total of 149 seats, 57 of them in the Union Parliament and the rest in the regional parliament.
The advocates-turned-political candidates come from a variety of farmer and labor advocacy groups and said they want to amend labor laws.
They will run in the industrial town of Hlaing Thar Yar as well as Htan Ta Pin and Kawhmu—the constituency where State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to Union Parliament in the 2012 by-election and the 2015 election.
Daw Su Su Nway, farmers’ rights activist and chairwoman of the Myanmar Farmers Union, said she will run for the Union Lower House seat in Kawhmu.
“I will contest in my hometown. I decided to become a candidate as I want to work not only for the farmers from my area but also for those across the nation whose land rights are being violated,” she told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
“We want to work on enacting laws that would benefit farmers and help farmers to get their land rights, so I ask you to put your trust in me,” she added.
U Htay, a lawyer who works to help laborers, plans to run for the Lower House seat for Hlaing Thar Yar Township. He said he wants to work on behalf of laborers and farmers and promote their rights..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-07-07
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar authorities have been making strenuous effort for the recovery of local employment which was affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, an official from Labour, Immigration and Population Ministry told Xinhua Friday.
"The ministry is doing its utmost to connect local employers and employees to boost the local employment opportunities," said U Myo Aung, permanent secretary of the ministry.
The number of newly employed workers significantly dropped in April and May during the outbreak of COVID-19.
Over 9,300 local employments were offered to workers in the country's regions and states in April while over 6,000 local employments were created in May, down from over 24,000 in March, the ministry's figures said.
The number of unemployed workers from factories, workshops and workplaces reached about 17,000 this year and the months of COVID-19 period registered the highest unemployment rate in the country, the permanent secretary said.
Aiming to promote the development of the country and help people increase their incomes, the ministry has been offering local and overseas employment opportunities.
Meanwhile, the ministry announced suspension of sending migrant workers abroad and the issuance of employment contracts and overseas employment identity cards in March, as part of COVID-19 containment measures..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Labour issues in Burma
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Workers have been bearing the brunt of measures imposed to counter the pandemic and their plight has been compounded by poor governance and hostility towards organised labour.
Description:
"In a video conference call on May 8 that discussed COVID-19 precautions in factories and other workplaces, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spoke of the importance of educating workers about the threat posed by the virus. “If the workers are careless, they will suffer,” she said.
While education is important, it is far from enough to protect factory workers from the effects of the virus, however. The government and business community may try to put the blame and burden of prevention on factory workers, but their plight during the coronavirus pandemic is a predictable result of negligence and careless governance and corporate conduct.
Protecting factory workers from COVID-19 requires government intervention to ensure that working conditions are safe and workers have the protective equipment they need. It requires oversight to ensure that factory workers receive full salaries and living wages for doing their jobs. An effective financial and social security system is critical to ensure that workers who are dismissed are not forsaken and it requires responsible business conduct that is not opportunistic or exploitative. More than ever Myanmar’s factory workers need strong independent unions to ensure that they can protect themselves, their interests and one another during this crisis..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-03
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Labour issues in Burma
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Workers make surgical gowns at a garment factory in Yangon, Myanmar, May 2, 2020. A garment factory in Yangon has been producing disposable surgical gowns to cope with the increasing demands at local hospitals in Myanmar. Running with at least 40 staff at present, the factory has daily production capacity of 1,400 non-woven fabric surgical gowns at prices of 1,500 kyats (over 1 U.S. dollars) each.
Description:
"A garment factory in Yangon has been producing disposable surgical gowns to cope with the increasing demands at local hospitals in Myanmar.
"We started this to make some donations on our own to the hospitals in need since the Thingyan Water Festival holidays early April, and later we run as a social business which help donors engage with the hospitals through online social media page," Hnin Thet Mon, owner of the factory named Shwe See Sar, told Xinhua recently.
"We do this to support local medical staffs as surgical gowns are needed in their daily routines when treating non-infected patients at this critical time," she said.
Running with at least 40 staff at present, the factory has daily production capacity of 1,400 non-woven fabric surgical gowns at prices of 1,500 kyats (over 1 U.S. dollars) each.
"We target to make 15,000 gowns as the first batch of our production and we have bought enough materials for them from the local market. But, we can't guess how many we can produce next as we have some difficulties buying materials from abroad," the owner said.
Local medical staff have been working on the frontlines to combat COVID-19 pandemic since the disease was first detected in the country on March 23..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-05-02
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Labour issues in Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"More than 1,800 factories in Yangon have been permitted to resume their operations after complying with official COVID-19 preventative measures, said Yangon Region’s Ministry for Immigration and Human Resources.
On April 19, the Ministry of Labor ordered that factories could only reopen after introducing COVID-19 preventative measures set by the Ministry of Health and Sports.
By ZAW ZAW HTWE 29 April 2020
Yangon – More than 1,800 factories in Yangon have been permitted to resume their operations after complying with official COVID-19 preventative measures, said Yangon Region’s Ministry for Immigration and Human Resources.
On April 19, the Ministry of Labor ordered that factories could only reopen after introducing COVID-19 preventative measures set by the Ministry of Health and Sports.
Factories had already stopped operations from April 12-19 for the Thingyan holiday.
Daw Moe Moe Su Kyi, the Yangon regional minister for immigration and human resources, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that 1,974 factories had been inspected.
She said 427 factories were permitted to resume operations and 1,432 can reopen while making some minor COVID-19 measures while they are operating.
The minister added that 115 factories failed to meet the guidelines.
Daw Moe Moe Su Kyi added that inspections were continuing..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-04-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Workers Fear Increase in Union Busting at Factories During Covid-19 Lockdown
Description:
"In previous years on May 1, workers across Myanmar would rally and march in solidarity for workers’ rights and justice. But this May Day the streets will be quiet, as no marches are allowed with Covid-19 lockdowns and curfews in place.
Most factories in Myanmar closed on April 13 for the annual water festival celebrations. The government then ordered they remain closed until April 30 while Covid-19 related inspections were conducted. More than 500 factories in Yangon and Mandalay have now been inspected and are slowly resuming operations. In the meantime, at least 60,000 workers have lost their jobs as factories shut down amid a global slowdown in supply chain orders caused by the pandemic. Many affected workers toil in the garments sector, where unions in Myanmar have some of the strongest representation. But as factories close, concerns are growing that some employers will use the pandemic as an excuse to attack and dismantle unions.
A union member from one factory told Human Rights Watch that factory shutdowns like these are tactics to fire union members. “Although my factory paid us our benefits and wages, they fired all the union members first,” she said.
More than half a million people live and work in the industrial zones on Yangon’s outskirts. Many have moved from rural areas to find these jobs. They live precariously on empty lots as squatters, or packed into dormitory-style accommodations in quarters shared with multi-generational families and friends..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-05-30
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Over 60,000 workers across the country have lost their jobs due to factory shutdowns caused by cancelled orders and the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption of raw material supplies.
Description:
"U Myo Aung, permanent secretary of Labour, Immigration and Population, said on April 29 that 175 factories had stopped operations since the virus outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December. “Over 60,000 people are unemployed,” he said. "Everything was settled in more than 70 factories, but in 105 factories, the workers have not been paid yet.” In Yangon Region, the Brightberg Enterprises bag factory, which dismissed more than 300 employees, was shut down permanently, said Daw Cho Mar Win, an employee.
“The factory is closed,” she said, “but only the owner knows why. Today, they will pay compensation to the employees according to the law.”
About 100 workers staged a strike from March 30 to April 10 to demand full pay for April and to rehire more than 300 workers who had been dismissed. The Labour Ministry is now in the process of inspecting factories that want to reopen, and more than 2000 had been inspected as of April 27..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-04-28
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The government will continue sending workers abroad, even to South Korea, which is now the centre of the COVID-19 epidemic in more than 70 countries, a senior labour official said.
Description:
"Daw Thin Thin Lwin, assistant director of the Overseas Job Agency under the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population, said that the government had sent 23,586 workers to Thailand, 4408 to Malaysia, 69 to Singapore, 267 to Korea, 761 to Japan, 58 to UAE, 67 to Jordan and 11 to Qatar in January.
"We will not stop sending workers abroad, even to South Korea,” she said.
Thousands of Myanmar nationals continue to seek work abroad due to Myanmar’s slumping economy and lack of jobs.
From 2011 through February, over 40,000 Myanmar workers went to South Korea, she said. On Monday, the Health Ministry announced that Singapore had notified it that a 25-year-old Myanmar woman working as a maid in the city-state had tested positive for COVID-19, the first such case involving a Myanmar citizen.
As of Wednesday, the Myanmar government said, the country had no confirmed cases of COVID-19, which has killed over 3000 people since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, on December 31..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-03-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Labour issues in Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"...In 2005, the Women Exchange Get together chose the topic of “Forced Migration and Forced labour” to explore in more depth. Many of the women participating in Women exchange have had personal experience of forced migration and forced labour and have an important part to play in advocacy against such human rights violations. At the same time, the global focus on trafficking in humans has brought a range of debates to the issue which have not always been communicated to women in the field..."
Source/publisher:
MAP Foundation
Date of publication:
2006-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
3.25 MB
Local URL:
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Topic:
fishing, labour, labour issues, Ayeyarwady Region, Ayeyarwady River, Myanmar Fisheries, Federation, Myanmar Police Force, Department of Fisheries
Sub-title:
Workers spend eight months without break on fishing rafts moored off the Ayeyarwady Region coast, enduring beatings and deprivation to keep Myanmar supplied with fish paste.
Topic:
fishing, labour, labour issues, Ayeyarwady Region, Ayeyarwady River, Myanmar Fisheries, Federation, Myanmar Police Force, Department of Fisheries
Description:
"A DEJECTED Daw Myint Myint San was sitting in the small room of the labour office in Ayeyarwady Region’s Pyapon Township, nodding as if she understood what the labour officer was saying.
The labour officer, a woman, was brandishing a book of labour law regulations and speaking loudly.
“It clearly states in the 1923 law that you cannot get compensation unless you have a death certificate,” the labour officer said. “How can I believe your husband is dead unless you can produce the death certificate?”
“But officer, my husband died at sea and his body has not been found,” Myint Myint San replied. “How can I show you a death certificate?”
Her husband, U Zaw Oo, left their home in Kweh Lweh Yo Seit village in Ayeyarwady’s Myaungmya Township last August to work on one of the fishing rafts off Pyapon, which are notorious for labour abuses. In October, Myint Myint San received a phone call from her husband’s employer to say he had drowned while trying to escape from the raft.
Asked where her husband died, Myint Myint San points to the big distributary of the Ayeyarwady River that flows through Pyapon on its way to the sea.
The employer offered Myint Myint San K600,000 (US$402) in compensation for the death of her husband. Thinking the amount too small, she complained to the labour office in Pyapon.
However, under the 1923 Workmen’s Compensation Act, which was amended in 2005, Myint Myint San is entitled to receive compensation of only between K150,000 and K450,000 from the employer for the death of her husband if she has a death certificate. If her husband had paid into a social security fund, she might expect a higher amount, but it’s unlikely that any workers on the rafts have such protection. Myint Myint San had no choice but to accept the K600,000.
“I’ve been deprived of a husband, but they have only given me K600,000,” she said. “How can I manage with three children?”
As Myint Myint San left the labour office, she cursed the kyar phaung (tile rafts), the bamboo fishing rafts launched from Pyapon, which are named after the “tile nets” that workers cast from their sides to catch fish..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-20
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Fisheries (including aquaculture and fishing), Labour issues in Burma, Non-ILO Reports on Forced Recruitment in Burma
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Thousands of workers in Yangon on Sunday took to the streets to demand an increase in the minimum wage to K9800 ($6.66) ahead of the review of the country’s new minimum wage law.
Description:
"Ko Thwin Aung, chair of Myan Mhu garment workers union, said the current minimum wage of 4800 is below the cost of living in the country. “The current rate set by the government is not enough for a family of four,” he said. “Commodity prices, as well as hostel charges, are rapidly rising up. So, we will ask for reasonable wage. For a family of four, if three do not work and depend on only one, it is impossible to cope with the current rate. So, we will demand K9800."
He explained the amount was reached after consulting 1200 garment workers in Hlaing Tharyar Township starting from October 2019. Nearly 10000 garment workers from 20 labour organisations marched in Hlaing Tharyar to dramatise their demand.
According to section 5(h) of Minimum Wages Law, that rate is to be defined every two year, but in the second time rate specification, it took two years and eight months before the minimum was set.
"Back in 2018, the minimum wage was set at 4800, but prices of rice are going up now,” said Ma Malar, another labour union leader who joined the protest. “I want the government to take consideration of the welfare of the workers when they set the minimum wage.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-19
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Topic:
Garment Factory, Female Worker, Labour Rights
Sub-title:
Pregnancy labour laws go ignored by garment factory owners, leaving female workers in perilous positions
Topic:
Garment Factory, Female Worker, Labour Rights
Description:
"On her way home from work on 9 November, Phyo Ei Ei Khine began experiencing lower back pain.
It was not an altogether unfamiliar symptom, her workdays spent bent over a garment factory sewing machine often leaving her sore, but the pain and fatigue that particular day felt overwhelming.
Married for three years, she was five months into her first pregnancy.
By 2am that night she was up with severe abdominal pain. Pulling back the covers, she saw blood running down her legs.
At the hospital, doctors told her she’d had a miscarriage.
“They took the fetus away in a plastic bag. I didn’t want to look at it,” she recently told Myanmar Now, her eyes cast down to hide her tears.
Myanmar's 2012 Social Security Law grants any employee registered for social security up to six weeks of paid medical leave after a miscarriage, and the 1951 Work and Holidays Act grants this same benefit even to those not registered for social security, though protections for day labourers and employees on probationary periods differ..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-13
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, International labour standards and mechanisms, Non-ILO Reports on Forced Recruitment in Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"LABOUR organisations look set on proposing an increase of the minimum wage in Myanmar when it is up for a review by May.
This followed a study by the Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM) in Yangon, Bago, Mandalay, Magwe and Sagaing regions, as well as the Shan and Kayin states, according to The Myanmar Times.
Central committee member U Win Zaw said they were inclined to propose 7200 kyats for eight hours of work, or 900 kyats per hour work, to the National Committee for Minimum Wage.
Currently, the minimum wage is set at 4800 kyats for eight hours of work and was last reviewed in May 2018.
“We have received recommendations from CTUM, labour activists and other federations that the minimum wage should be raised,” said Win Zaw.
The National Committee for Minimum Wage includes 27 representatives from the government, workers and employers.
The committee is tasked with reviewing the country’s minimum wage every two years.
General secretary of the Myanmar Industries Craft and Services Trade Unions Federation, U Thet Hnin Aung, said they were conducting a similar survey and would reveal its findings once completed..."
Source/publisher:
"New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2020-01-10
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, International labour standards and mechanisms, All Labour Rights (violations)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Consumer and corporate-focused approaches to labour exploitation and trafficking are ineffective.
Description:
"Since 2010, the world has witnessed a marked shift in efforts to combat labour exploitation. As consumers have become more aware of labour abuses, international companies have been forced to scrutinise labour practices not only at their offices and sales outlets but also at the various factories involved in manufacturing their products.
In accordance with laws like the 2015 UK Modern Slavery Act and 2010 California Supply Chain Transparency Act, multinational retailers like Walmart, and global brands like Zara, Gap, H & M and C & A have recently publicised modern slavery statements expressing a commitment to addressing forced labour.
Such laws focus on increasing the transparency of the production process, which involves numerous levels of sub-contracting, often across continents - a pervasive practice that ensures low manufacturing costs. To comply with new regulations, many companies have established new corporate divisions for responsible sourcing and global sustainability, promising to investigate, audit, monitor, educate, and reduce the incidence of forced labour and human trafficking in the different factories they engage with..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-09
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, International labour standards and mechanisms, Trafficking: Burma-specific material
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Labourers fired by the Department of Fisheries for reporting alleged corruption have tried in vain to seek redress from the Yangon Region government.
Description:
"LABOUR disputes are common, and often volatile, in Yangon, thanks to burgeoning manufacturing and trading sectors, personnel-heavy government and company offices, and the inconsistent application of labour laws. A steady stream of rural to urban migration feeds a labour pool that is beyond the government’s ability to track, and the overburdening or bypassing of arbitration mechanisms prompts workers to take militant approaches.
Direct action by workers can invite violent crackdowns, but it can also produce wins. One recent example is the sit-in protest outside the Yangon Region government compound staged by more than 200 workers from factories in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township. This ended on October 23, two days after it had started, when Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein and regional Immigration and Human Resources Minister Daw Moe Moe Su Kyi met the workers and pledged to help resolve their disputes with their managers over the alleged violation of agreements on pay and unionisation.
However, another group of workers who protested outside the gates of the regional government at the same time got the cold shoulder from the chief minister. Numbering about 50, they were daily wage labourers handling freight at a fish market in Yangon’s Kyimyindaing Township for the Department of Fisheries, which is under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation. When six of them complained in April that team leaders were extorting illegal placement fees from newly recruited workers, they were summarily fired by the department for inciting protest..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"As Myanmar continues to open to foreign investment, employers from other ASEAN countries and places farther afield have been setting up local operations. Understanding the requirements of Myanmar labour law is, of course, a crucial part of this.
By staying in compliance with the country’s regulations on working conditions, leave and holiday entitlements, and other labour regulations, entrepreneurs can increase their likelihood of business success in Myanmar...Working hours and pay.....
For shops, companies, trading centres, service enterprises, and entertainment houses, normal working hours are set by the Shop and Establishment Law 2016 at eight hours per day, or a maximum of 48 hours per week. Employees are entitled to at least one day off with pay per week, and the default weekly rest day is Sunday. Overtime working hours must not exceed 12 hours per week, or 16 hours in extraordinarily pressing circumstances. The prescribed minimum rest is at least 30 minutes after four hours of work. Under current practices of the Ministry of Labour, overtime pay must be calculated at double the employee’s basic wage..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-10-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, International labour standards and mechanisms, Political, social and economic dimensions of investment in Burma, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Description:
"Global climate change and fisheries depleted by industrial fishing operations are forcing small fishermen in Dawei to invest in larger boats that can venture into deeper water.
But Myanmar law limits the size of fishing boats, preventing local fishermen from investing in the larger boats they need to fish in the best areas. This week, in partnership with Dawei Watch, Doh Athan speaks with local fishermen forced to either give up their livelihoods, or break the law..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar) via Dohathan
Date of publication:
2019-09-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Topic:
Labour
Sub-title:
Workers at a coffee factory in Mandalay went on strike on Sunday to demand that four colleagues who were dismissed almost a year ago for organising a labour union be given their jobs back.
Topic:
Labour
Description:
"Some 100 workers at the Miko Coffee Mix factory held a protest in front of the plant in the Mandalay industrial zone, backed by members of the Myanmar Industries, Crafts and Services Trade Union Federation.
“They had no reason to fire us,” said Ma Htay Mar, who was one of the four workers dismissed. “They fired us because they didn’t want us to form a labour union. The labour office didn’t solve this issue. We told them to negotiate with the employers many times but they said they couldn’t.”
The management allegedly dismissed the four workers for stopping production machinery when they went to the toilet to relieve themselves. The workers questioned their dismissal at a local labour office, but the issue has not been resolved.
The protesters urged the management to immediately reinstate the four workers.
U Min Thet Htwe, a labour leader who joined the protest, urged the Labour Department to conduct regular inspections of factories to check on the conditions of workers in order to avoid disputes..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2019-09-16
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma
Language:
more
Topic:
Food Security/Right to livelihood, Forced Labour
Topic:
Food Security/Right to livelihood, Forced Labour
Description:
"The incident took place in March 2018 in K--- village, Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mutraw (Hpapun) District. U L --- other people from K--- village were working as informal day labourers on a road construction project between Mah Htaw and Htee Tha Bluh Hta village tracts for the Min Bagan Company. The company started the project in January 2018 and hired local people to work on the road and bridge construction. The operation was part of a community development project planned by the government.
The Min Bagan company ran out of funds for the road construction and halted the project in March 2018. After that, U Thein Zaw, a Min Bagan Company engineer, did not pay the day labourers in full. Instead, he kept the money for himself and repeatedly postponed the payment.
The day labourers should have received between 5,500 kyats (USD 3.62) [4] and 6,000 kyats (USD 3.95) per day for men and between 4,000 kyats (USD 2.63) and 5,000 kyats (USD 3.29) for women, but eighteen of them are still waiting for their wages to be paid in full. Even though the company promised to pay them, it has not done so yet. In total, U Thein Zaw still owes 1,612,000 kyats (USD 1,060) to U L--- and the other day labourers.
The day labourers depend on their wages to secure their livelihoods and provide for their family, as they do not own enough lands to live off subsistence farming. As a result of non-payment, they went into debt to buy food, which caused them economic difficulties and anxiety. Ma E---, one of the day labourers, expressed her feelings to KHRG: “I felt really angry because we didn’t have money to buy goods.”
As they still had not received their money, the day labourers discussed with K--- village leaders possible ways of taking action. They drafted and signed a complaint letter to reclaim the rest of their wages from the company, which they sent to the Chief Minister of Kayin State, Nan Khin Htway Myint, on August 13th 2018.
After the road construction project was halted, people from K--- village were only able to engage in intermittent, informal work. Since January 2019, they have been working as day labourers on a road construction project for the Sein Sin Kyel Company. They now receive their wages on time, which has allowed them to pay back their debts. The project they are working on should be completed in July 2019.
In June 2019, when a KHRG researcher followed up the U L---, he explained that he could not even contact U Thein Zaw anymore. In addition, he said that the complaint letter they submitted to the Chief Minister of Kayin State remained unanswered..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2019-06-28
Date of entry/update:
2019-07-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reports, Food Security in Karen (Kayin) State, Labour issues in Burma
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
421.15 KB
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Description:
"Country baselines under the ILO Declaration Annual Review are based on the following elements to the extent they are available:
governments’ reports, observations by employers’ and workers’ organizations, case studies prepared under the auspices of the country and
the ILO, and observations/recommendations by the ILO Declaration Expert-Advisers and by the ILO Governing Body. For any further
information on the realization of this principle and right in a given country, in relation with a ratified Convention or possible cases that have
been submitted to the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association, please see: http://webfusion.ilo.org/public/db/standards/normes/libsynd..."
Source/publisher:
International Labour Organisation (ILO)
Date of publication:
2018-05-18
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Labour Organisation (ILO), News about the ILO and Burma/Myanmar, Labour issues in Burma
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
249.44 KB
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Description:
"Human rights defenders, activists, journalists and former employees are facing criminal defamation lawsuits for their public comments on labour rights abuses faced by many workers at Thammakaset Co. Ltd, a chicken farm in central Thailand. Nan Win, a former farm worker and Sutharee Wannasiri, a human rights specialist and former employee of Amnesty International Thailand, go on trial on 24 May 2019 while Tun Tun Win, a migrant worker from Myanmar, will stand trial on 5 June 2019. They are three of at least 22 individuals who have faced criminal and civil proceedings initiated by this company..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (ASA 39/0420/2019)
Date of publication:
2019-05-24
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Forced labour: international standards
Language:
English
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Description:
"This report is a fruit of a one year?s research work by a team of researchers, project staff and volunteers at Action Labor Rights (ALR), led by Thurein Aung (ALR), and with advice from Tin Maung Htwe (Data Analysis) and Carol Ransley.
Action Labor Rights (ALR) had its beginnings in 2002 when young members of the National League for Democracy were working with the ILO to advocate for freedom of association and to abolish forced and child labour. In May 2007, six ALR members and more than 80 workers from Hlaingthaya, Shwepyitha and Dagon industrial zones were arrested after taking part in Labour Day celebrations at the US Embassy in Yangon. After their release from prison in January 2012, the activists decided to continue their activities as an organization, and formally established ALR in February 2012. Its activities include training workers on their rights and on labour laws, monitoring the practices of international sourcing companies, research and advocacy, and focusing on the rights of women workers.
The research was made possible with support from the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) as part of their commitment to build capacity of Myanmar civil society working on business and human rights issues and to create knowledge for raising public awareness. However, the report?s findings and recommendations belong to ALR alone..."
Action Labour Rights က ရေးသားသည့် ဤအစီရင်ခံစာသည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် တည်ရှိသည့် အထည်ချုပ်စက်ရုံများအနက် ကိုရီးယားနိုင်ငံသားများ အပြည့်အဝပိုင်ဆိုင်သည့် စက်ရုံများနှင့် ကိုရီးယားကုမ္ပဏီများနှင့် ဖက်စပ်လုပ်ကိုင်သည့် စက်ရုံများမှ အလုပ်သမားများနှင့်သက်ဆိုင်သည့်အခြေအနေများကို ဆန်းစစ်ထားခြင်းဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ကုမ္ပဏီအများစုသည် ရန်ကုန်နှင့် ပဲခုူးဝန်းကျင်ရှိ စက်မှုဇုန်များတွင် တည်ရှိပါသည်။ ယခု အစီရင်ခံစာသည် ၂ဝ၁၅ ဧပြီလမှ ဇွန်လအတွင်း ကွင်းဆင်းလေ့လာသူ ဆယ်ယောက်ပါဝင်သော အဖွဲ့ဖြင့် စက်ရုံလုပ်ငန်းခွင် ၃၉ ခုမှ ဝန်ထမ်းပေါင်း ၁၂ဝဝ ကို အရည်အသွေးအရရော အရေအတွက်အရပါအခြေခံသည့် မေးခွန်းများကို မေးမြန်း၍
ရရှိလာသည့် အချက်အလက်များကို အခြေခံ၍ ရေးသားထား ခြင်းဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ထို့အတူ
အခြားသူများပြုလုပ်ထားခဲ့သည့်၊ ရေးသားသည့် အကြောင်းအရာ အချက်အလက်များမှ
ပြန်လည်ကောက်နှုတ်ထားသည့် တစ်ဆင့်ခံ အချက်အလက်များလဲ ပါဝင်ပါသည်။ ကိုယ်တိုင်
မေးမြန်းမှုများ ပြုလုပ်ရာတွင်လည်း အရေးပါသောသူများဖြစ်သည့် မန်နေဂျာများနှင့် ဝန်ထမ်းများအား အဖွ့ဲလိုက် ဆွေးနွေးစေမှုများလည်း ပါဝင်ပါသည်။
본 ?노동기본권행동연대(Action Labor Rights)?가 작성한 이 보고서는 미얀마에서 한국인이 경영하거나 현지 자본과 조인트벤처 형태로 운영하는 일부 의복공장들의 노동환경을 다루고 있습니다. 조사 대상의 대부분은 양곤지역이나 바고의 공단에 위치한 회사들로서, 지난해 4 월부터 6 월까지, 이들 지역 서른아홉개 공장 1 천 2 백명의 노동자들로부터 수집한 질적, 양적 자료를 토대로 결론을 도출했습니다. 이번 조사에는 저희 단체 소속 10 명의 연구원들이 현장투입돼, 공장 매니저들을 포함한 제보자와 중점 조사대상 그룹을 집중 인터뷰하고, 관련 자료도 넘겨받아 보고서를 작성했습니다.
Source/publisher:
Action Labor Rights (ALR)
Date of publication:
2016-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2016-04-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ), Korean
Format :
pdf pdf pdf
Size:
1.96 MB 1.48 MB 1.56 MB
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Description:
"CESD presented the preliminary findings of their enterprise survey, which looked at labour market issues in the garment and food processing sectors, to the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security on 27 January 2016. Issues included the low levels of labor representation, signs of worker dissatisfaction (as reflected in quite a high incidence of strikes), the gap between actual wages and the new minimum wage (the survey was conducted prior to the establishment of a minimum wage), high labor turnover rates, limited investment in human capital development, and firms? difficulties in finding skilled labor. The research found that the greatest challenge for businesses was the ability to access skilled labor, followed by access to a reliable electricity supply..."
Source/publisher:
Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD)
Date of publication:
2016-01-00
Date of entry/update:
2016-01-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
582.04 KB
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Description:
"This Interview with Saw A--- describes events and issues occurring in Bu Tho Township, Hpapun District, during January 2015, including improvements in education, villager opinions about the ceasefire, and land confiscation....
The Karen Education Department (KED) said they will raise each teachers? salaries from 4,500 baht (US $133.48) to 7,500 baht (US $222.47) per year starting in 2014 in B--- village...
Saw A--- expressed his opinion on the ceasefire agreement between the Burma/Myanmar government and the Karen National Union (KNU), saying that he does not have faith in the current ceasefire...
Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #340 confiscated villagers? land in Hpapun area and put up a sign declaring it to be the battalion?s land. The villagers remain the legal landlords but the LIB is exercising de-facto control. The interviewee?s brother had submitted a complaint about this to the KNU Land Department several times in 2014 and, although he was told the land will be returned, there has been no observed progress towards land reclamation or compensation..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2015-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2015-09-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land confiscation for military, commercial and other purposes, Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reports, Labour issues in Burma, Armed conflict in Karen State - negotiations and ceasefire talks
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
307.84 KB
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Description:
"They are hoping to be allowed inside so they can apply for a job. Some already have work nearby, but they have heard the United Knitting Company is offering a relatively high rate for unskilled workers of K90,000 per month, and are hoping to switch.
The standard monthly pay for a semi-skilled garment factory worker in Yangon is K95,000, including a base wage of roughly K40,000, a bonus of around the same value, an award and several payments made at the discretion of the factory owner, according to U Thet Hnin Aung, secretary of the Tai Yi Basic Labour Organisation and a member of the Myanmar Trade Unions Federation.
?They usually pay the bonus, but there is no security. If we?re absent for one day, they can take some of these payments away,” he said.
This is likely to change at the end of next month, when a national tripartite body will finalise details of Myanmar?s first minimum wage. On June 29, the National Minimum Wage Committee announced a provisional base wage of K3600 per day, and opened a two-month window for comment.
Since then, factory workers and owners have fervently debated this figure, with owners saying they will pay no more than K2500 and workers saying they will agree to a minimum of K4000. Businesspeople from China and South Korea have threatened to shut their factories in Yangon if the K3600 wage is enacted, saying that costs are already high due to low productivity and poor infrastructure.
For the workers, inflation and unstable commodity prices mean they may not be able to survive on less. On the current wage, many workers in Yangon are forced to live outside factory walls in structures built from bamboo and plastic sheeting. Some live beside large pools of stagnant water ? breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes. Healthcare options are limited and expensive..."
Clare Hammond, Nyan Lynn Aung
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (English)
Date of publication:
2015-07-10
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma
Language:
English
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Description:
"Ma Su Su Nway is a Yangon-based labour activist and National League for Democracy (NLD) party member. In 2005 she was sentenced to 18 months in prison after filing a complaint that led to the successful prosecution of government authorities over the use of forced labour. For her work opposing forced labour in Myanmar, Ma Su Su Nway was in 2006 awarded the John Humphrey Freedom Award from the Canadian organisation Rights & Democracy. Released from prison in June 2006, she was rearrested in November 2008 for displaying of a banner near the hotel of UN human rights envoy Paulo Pinheiro. Ma Su Su Nway was subsequently released from prison in October 2011 and has since been involved in labour organising activities in Myanmar. The following transcript is a translated excerpt of an interview conducted in Yangon on 27 January 2013..."
Stephen Campbell
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2013-02-11
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma
Language:
English
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Description:
Escalating garment factory strikes in Rangoon needle nervous regime...
"Mostly young women, they work long hours to produce luxury clothing for the world?s well-heeled. And they?re fed up.
Burmese workers stitch sports clothing for a taiwanese company in a garment factory in Hlaing Tharyar Township in Rangoon in 2003. (Photo: AFP)
Significantly, in this politically charged election year, Rangoon?s textile factory workers are resorting to industrial action to back their increasingly clamorous demands for better pay and conditions of employment. The majority of the striking workers are women.
Although the regime usually assigns a Labor Ministry official to mediate, negotiations are held in an atmosphere of menace, with armed riot-control troops deployed at the scene of the strike. Soldiers in riot gear find themselves confronted by women whose most provocative action is to bang their lunch boxes with metal spoons to reinforce their demands.
It?s clear that workers are being pushed into industrial action by rising living costs and declining labor conditions, yet the regime is evidently worried that the protests could turn political..."
Ba Kaung
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 4
Date of publication:
2010-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-04-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma
Language:
E nglish
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