Worker Strike Probe Shot Down by MPs

The Irrawaddy reports that a bill to establish a committee to prob the recent strike wave in Myanmar has been rejected in parliament.

A proposal to form a committee to investigate worker strikes, which took place in Rangoon factories to demand wages hikes over the past year, was rejected by Burma’s Lower House of Parliament after a vote on Wednesday. Speaking to The Irrawaddy after the decision, Thein Nyunt, a Lower House MP for the New Democracy Party, said he proposed forming the new committee in order to keep tabs on the current political and economic situation... [South Oakkalapa MP Aung Thein Lin] explained that 90 factories, mostly in Rangoon, went on strike in May and June but all are now back on track after officials helped in negotiations between the employers and employees. In June, the Ministry of Labor imposed a minimum wage for workers, Aung Thein Lin added, and more than 100 worker associations have been formed in accordance with the new Labor Association law and bylaws. Meanwhile, the Minimum Wage Bill is due to be discussed in Parliament this month.