NLD's economic "blueprint" and income inquality in Myanmar

"The increasing polarity in this country needs to be tackled immediately, especially between the rich and poor, as the gap between them has been growing. If it's not tackled, it could derail our long-term  quest for democracy," said Maung Maung Lay.

Gov responses to allegations of "legal human trafficking"

Migrant rights activists who accused the government of operating a “legal” human trafficking pipeline must face punishment for speaking out of line, Thai and Myanmar labour officials have said. The two rights groups, the Myanmar Association in Thailand (MAT) and the Aid Alliance Committee for Myanmar workers (AAC), last week compared the formal, sanctioned channels for sending Myanmar labourers overseas via memoranda of understanding to exploitative human smuggling rings.

Migrant labour MoU as “legal human-trafficking”

Thailand and Myanmar must agree on a migrant worker system that does not functionally result in “legal human-trafficking”, activists said at a press conference last week.

The remark ignited a scuffle with owners of overseas employment agencies who disputed allegations that their business model is barely a cut above black-market human smugglers’.

Privatisation and its discontents

Workers from an agriculture machinery factory at 9 Mile in Yangon Region staged a protest against the Young Investment Group Industry Co Ltd (YIG) yesterday morning, claiming the company had fired nearly all of its employees without cause.

Labour law reform in "democractic" Myanmar

The government has largely put labour reform on the backburner at a time when worker rights advocates say there’s an urgent need to improve dispute settlement procedures. THE first crackdown on protesting workers under the National League for Democracy government occurred less than two months after it assumed power.

Private funding for industrial zone infrastructure?

Yangon Region government is to call on private industry to fund an upgrade of Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone to serve as a pilot project for the nation... “The government wants to upgrade industrial zones in Yangon, starting in Hlaing Tharyar as a pilot project,”... He believes the government intends to put the development plan out to tender, inviting private companies to develop the necessary infrastructure.“

Official position on Thailand's migrant crackdown

"Department head Mr Arak Prommanee urged employers to bring their employees to register before the expiry of the deadline, warning that, after that, labour inspectors will start checking work places to find out if any of them are harbouring illegal workers. Employers will face a maximum fine of 100,000 for having one illegal migrant worker and illegal migrant workers will face a maximum jailterm of five years and/or a fine of between 2,000-100,000 baht."

"Over one million foreign migrant workers are expected to register with Labour Ministry," Pattaya Mail