ILO meets factory owner over firings

Myanmar Times article on an ILO meeting with a factory owner to follow up case of firing of labour organisers.

On July 10, some workers from the factory, which employs more than 2000 people, gathered to form a labour organisation. The next day the factory dismissed nine workers who had taken up executive committee posts in the organisation, The Voice reported on July 30. The journal said the Yangon Region arbitration body had upheld the sackings because it found the workers had conducted activities “that can hurt the peaceful situation at the working environment, [including] holding meetings, protesting, inciting workers who are working peacefully, intentionally destroying the situation at the workplace, and causing delays in the work of others”, as their employer alleged. “I didn’t do anything to cause ‘unrest’ at the workplace,” U Kyaw Min Htwe, one of the dismissed workers, was quoted as saying.