Growing protests call for action against Myanmar junta for labour rights breaches

Protests have intensified in Yangon and elsewhere in Myanmar since early March this year, demanding action against the country’s authorities under Article 33 of the Constitution of the United Nations’ labour agency, the International Labour Organisation (ILO).The demonstrations are taking place while the ILO’s governing body convenes in Geneva, Switzerland from March 10 through 21 this year. Myanmar’s military regime is expected to face sanctions at the ILO Conference scheduled in June for its failure to comply with international labour standards. In Yangon, where the military regime has heightened security measures amid Myanmar’s continuing internal conflict, protesters held demonstrations on March 10 and 11, wore clothing with the slogan “ILO A33 MYANMAR 2025”, and carried placards reading “ILO IMPLEMENT ARTICLE 33 ON MYANMAR NOW 2025.”Anti-junta groups near the copper mining project site of Letpadaung in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Region also held protests on March 13 using similar slogans. Under Article 33, the ILO is able to authorise a Commission of Inquiry to investigate alleged breaches of the agency’s standards and act to ensure future compliance. The activities in Yangon and other areas are joint efforts by labour unions, student unions, and protest groups, according to a leader of the Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon (AJAY) who spoke to Myanmar Now.Since the military seized power in Myanmar in a coup in 2021, the ruling junta has not only committed labour rights violations but also coerced people into performing porter duties for junta troops under a mandatory military service law that they revived last year, which constitutes a violation of ILO conventions, according to the AJAY leader.“The decision to take action on these issues has already been made by the ILO. However, the form the action will take will be under discussion in mid-March,” he explained. “Ahead of this discussion, protest groups and alliances are carrying out ground-level advocacy activities calling effective action against the military council.” Protesters Sagaing Region’s Salingyi Township near the Letpadaung mining site on March 13, demanding that the ILO implement Article 33, authorising an inquiry into labour practices in Myanmar (Photo: GSCB) The ILO Commission of Inquiry made 11 recommendations in October 2023 concerning Myanmar, including restoration of democracy and civil liberties, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of expression, but the junta has consistently failed to comply since then, according to protesters. Their response has been to hold demonstrations across the country appealing to the ILO, said Tharawun, a spokesperson for the Yangon 4 Brothers protest coalition. “It's extremely difficult to organise activities in Yangon,” she said. “Since the city is under complete army control, we are conducting these activities under serious security threats.”Although protests by activist groups now occur less often in Yangon and other major cities due to severe repression by the junta, some such activities have continued.According to Phyo Sandar Soe, assistant general secretary of the Confederation of Trade Unions-Myanmar (CTUM), the Myanmar military regime is trying to deceive the ILO. “They pressure workers to form unions they can control. Then they pretend to have tripartite dialogue between government, employers, and workers with these fake labour unions,” she said, communicating from the meeting of the ILO governing body in Geneva, which she is attending. “They're preparing to lie that they aren’t committing violations and that they're improving conditions. But no changes will result from it,” she continued, adding that junta would not be able to keep hiding the truth. The ILO plans to reach a decision regarding Myanmar on March 19, and any punitive measures against the Myanmar regime will be confirmed at the ILO Conference in June, she added. The junta habitually rejects observations or recommendations by the ILO. If a national government or regime fails to comply with the ILO’s fundamental conventions, the investigative team sent by the agency under Article 33 will observe and report on labour conditions from inside the country. The country will be subject to sanctions or other penalties if the report includes evidence of violations. According to labour organizations, such penalties may include the prosecution of violators in international court or the suspension of technical assistance, humanitarian aid, or diplomatic recognition from UN agencies and organisations.

Growing protests call for action against Myanmar junta for labour rights breaches

Workers, organisers, and activists say that since seizing power the regime has consistently committed violations of international labour standards, including coercing people into porter duties for the army under the conscription law

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