Workers Protest Labour Dispute Law in Mandalay

Originally appeared in Democratic Voice of Burma

The Federation of Trade Unions Myanmar headed a protest of some 600 workers in Mandalay on Sunday, calling for amendments to the 2012 Settlement of Labor Dispute Law, which, they say, completely favours employers.

Some 600 union members marched around two industrial zones in the outskirts of the city, according to the union’s information officer Thet Hnin Aung.

“Our main demand is to ensure that prison sentences are included as penalties in the Labor Dispute Law,” he told DVB on Sunday. “So that action can be taken against employers and parliamentarians who exploit work conditions.”

The Federation of Trade Unions Myanmar also released a statement on the same day with a list of eight demands, including the participation of union or workers’ representatives in the drafting of any future labour laws; and that MPs involved in the lawmaking process must not ignore workers’ demands and should include employees’ opinions on labour issues.

The union had previously held a rally in Rangoon but this was its first public demonstration in Mandalay.

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