Myanmar workers protest selection of Labour Arbitration Tribunal members

"Workers vow to mobilise 1,000 supporters in a protest on July 24, where they will voice dissatisfaction over the selection process of a tribunal council's members. “We are going to protest on July 24 with 1,000 people in front of (Yangon) City Hall,” said a factory worker Hla Hla. Workers' groups hosted a press conference on July 20, fuming about the lack of transparency of the selection process. On July 8, employee representatives were chosen to the tribunal council. However, half of them represented the Federation of Labour Unions [CTUM?], which was the only workers' group invited to the selection by the Ministry of Labour. “There are thousands of labour groups in Myanmar. However, they did not invite all groups and only announced the selection plan through Sky Net and newspapers. This did not reach all employees,” said Aung Thu, a labour affairs leader. Aside from the protest, the groups plan to file their complaints to the government, rights groups and political parties. Naw Aung from the Myanmar Industrial and Commercial Federation also criticised the voting system.

"Labour tribunal under fire over representatives," Eleven Media, 22 July 2016