Myanmar workers fired for unionizing, says trade union

The Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar (STUM) told DVB that factory owners have fired some employees for demanding to be paid the full minimum wage and attempting to unionize in Yangon Region. “They sack anyone who tries to form a union or demand increased wages or fairer working conditions,” Myo Myo Aye, a leading member of the STUM, told DVB. 

A worker in Yangon told DVB on the condition of anonymity that she was fired from her job for attempting to form a labour union and demanding the full minimum wage for herself and colleagues. She claimed that the regime Department of Labour failed to resolve her case but advised her to sue the factory. She has accused her employer of physically assaulting her and is currently pursuing legal action.

The ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government set the daily minimum wage to 4,800 MMK ($1 USD) in May 2018. Workers told DVB that they wanted at least 10,000 MMK ($2.2 USD) per day. As of October, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre has documented 665 cases of alleged labour and human rights abuse across 304 factories in Burma since the 2021 coup. 

Ground fissures prevent quake recovery in Mandalay 

Residents of Patheingyi Township in Mandalay Region told DVB that they are still unable to start restoration works due to ground fissures, one month after the earthquake killed 4,461. The township includes seven villages located on islands in the Irrawaddy River between Mandalay and Sagaing towns, which reportedly face flooding during the rainy season.

“Fissures are as wide as 30 feet and as deep as 20 feet in some places,” Yin Mya, a resident of Patheingyi’s Thanbo village, told DVB. Patheingyi is located 7-22 miles (11-35 km) northeast of the region’s capital Mandalay and the earthquake epicenter in Sagaing Region. Residents told DVB that at least 40 houses collapsed in Thanbo village, forcing many to stay in temporary shelters. 

Residents also reported a lack of electricity and a shortage of freshwater as local groundwater sources have been depleted since March 28. No humanitarian aid has been provided by the regime, and no experts have visited the area, according to residents, who want the fissures to be filled with earth and sand before the arrival of the monsoon season.

People’s Defence Force member faces murder charges 

The Karenni State Police told DVB on Sunday that a member of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) is facing murder charges for the alleged killing of a Buddhist monk and his disciple at a monastery in Ohntaing village of Pekon Township, southern Shan State, on March 4. Pekon is located 104 miles (167 km) south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi and 21 miles north (33 km) of the Karenni State capital Loikaw.

“After we completed our investigation into the murders, we found that he acted alone and shot both men dead,” Bo Bo, an officer with the Karenni State Police, told DVB. The court in Karenni has yet to deliver a verdict. But Bo Bo added that the accused could face between 10 years to a life sentence in prison with hard labour. 

The PDF admitted that its member was investigating the monk at his monastery and found text messages to military officials on his phone. The PDF member allegedly shot and killed the monk “out of anger” because he refused to accompany him to another location for “further investigation.” The disciple who arrived at the scene was also killed, according to the PDF. 

News by Region

MANDALAY—An aid worker told DVB on the condition of anonymity that residents have been searching for valuables in the rubble of collapsed buildings. “People [search] in areas where rescue operations have been completed,” he added. 

Residents told DVB that theft is common among those living outdoors since March 28. A robbery was reported at a gold shop in Chanmyathazi Township on Monday. The death toll from the earthquake in Mandalay is 2,900, according to DVB data.

NAYPYIDAW—Sources close to the regime told DVB that the Regional Commander for Naypyidaw Soe Min was ordered to sign a cautionary pledge after the PDF organized activities in four of eight townships in the Naypyidaw Council Territory.

“He needed to sign a confession that he was not aware of [the PDF activity],” a source told DVB on condition of anonymity. The source added that the PDF has detained military personnel during vehicle inspections and operations in villages. 

SAGAING—The Kalewa People Defence Organization told DVB that two civilians in Kalewa Township were killed by an airstrike carried out by the Burma Air Force on Tuesday. Kalewa is located 143 miles (230 km) northwest of the region’s capital Monywa.  

“They attacked the township using Y12 aircraft. It also damaged residential houses,” a Kalewa People’s Defence Organization spokesperson told DVB. Three people were killed in a similar attack on a gold mining site in the township on April 24.

(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,420 MMK)