Australia Calls for Higher Labor Standards in Burma

The Irrawaddy (2 Nov 2012) reports:

Australia’s government says Burma must do more to ensure that workers in the country are not exploited as international investors crowd in to take advantage of its newly liberalized economy. “You can’t have a successful economy where the workers are getting totally mistreated,” said Minister for Workplace Relations and Financial Services Bill Shorten, who has just completed a trip to Burma as head of a delegation of business and community leaders. According to a report by Radio Australia, Shorten also expressed concern about treatment of Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State.

Migrants poisoned by ‘generator fumes’

Phuket News (5 Nov 2012) reports:

One Burmese laborer is dead and four others are still in hospital after they spent the night guarding a construction site property, including a running generator in a closed room, police say... According to the police report, the generator was running in a room with no air circulation, and the windows and doors were closed. Police believe that a buildup of toxic fumes from the generator killed the man and seriously injured the four others.

Myanmar migrants in Malaysia

Bernama news (via The Malaysian Insider) provides statistics on the number of registered Myanmar migrant workers in Malaysia.

As of last July, more than 1.58 million foreign workers were registered to work in the country, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today. He said the number represented those who were legally employed and had obtained a Visit Pass (Temporary Employment) as issued by the Immigration Department. “Indonesia tops the list of the five countries whose workers are registered to work in Malaysia, with 767,590, followed by Nepal (279,421), Myanmar (137,784), Bangladesh (134,148) and India (91,222) from India,” he said.

Violence between Thai and Myanmar workers

The Bangkok Post reports ("Workers clash in Ayutthaya camp") on fighting between Thai workers and Myanmar migrant workers at a work camp in Ayuttaya:

One Thai and two Myanmar workers were seriously injured during a clash at a camp site in tambon Nong Nam Sai, Phachi district, Ayutthaya province last night, district chief Withit Pinnikorn said on Monday.

Can manufacturing succeed In Myanmar?

Forbes reports on potential developments in Myanmar's light manufacturing sector. The article reports that the 2011 strike wave pushed the government to set a temporary minimum wage. I note that this fits with what Federico Deyo refers to as a "politics of social disorder" where autonomous industrial actions, if sufficiently extensive, can achieve broader political objectives than the immediate grievances articulated by workers in a given struggle.

The ongoing quest for low cost production has drawn manufacturers’ attention to a small Southeast Asian nation [Myanmar] that has been out of the sourcing network for nearly a decade.

Migrants subscribe to social security in Thailand

The Nation reports on the registration of migrants for social security in Thailand:

Only 217,972 immigrant workers who registered their nationalities subscribed to the Social Security Office (SSO) to receive the same seven benefits as Thai workers, SSO chief Jeerasak Sukhonthachart said yesterday.

ASSK's push to liberalize markets

The Institutional Investor states it clearly: With Aung San Suu Kyi's push for market liberalisation, “The next few years will be revolutionary years in Myanmar” for foreign and domestic companies.