The IndustriAll global union federation and its affiliated European Trade Union on Tuesday called on the European Union to withdraw its support for Myanmar’s clothing industry, which helps fund the military regime.
The EU is currently funding the 3-million-euro Multi-Stakeholder Alliance for Decent Employment in the Myanmar apparel industry (MADE in Myanmar), running from December 2022 to 2026.
The project supports workers’ access to functional grievance mechanisms at both factory and industry level as well as facilitating dialogue between employers, workers and international stakeholders.
It also promotes industry best practices for occupational health and safety, social compliance and environmental management.
However, reports of labor rights violations by Myanmar employers and the junta have surged since the military coup in February 2021.
The global trade union’s call came after the recent arrests of workers linked to the MADE in Myanmar project.
Last month, five union leaders at a Chinese-owned garment factory in Yangon that supplies global brands Zara and Pull & Bear were arrested along with two labor rights activists of NGO Action Labor Rights and a union supporter, after protesting for a pay rise of 38 US cents per day. The military regime has charged them under the Sedition Law and Unlawful Association Act, which carry hefty prison terms.
The labor rights NGO is cooperating with the EU, EU-based brands, and the MADE in Myanmar project, said IndustriAll.
The global labor federation said freedom of association is no longer possible in Myanmar and the MADE project cannot protect labor activists from the military junta.
“EU citizens and public funds should not be used to benefit the military junta, nor should they be associated with an EU-funded project where workers are threatened, dismissed or arrested without causes,” IndustriAll said.
The federation added that the presence of EU brands in Myanmar provides vital foreign currency flows that sustain the military regime and facilitate its purchase of arms, ammunition and fuel.
Myanmar’s garment industry brought in US$ 4.7 billion in foreign exchange over the past year, as the junta conducts a brutal military campaign against civilian and armed resistance.
“The MADE project offers no protection to worker’s representatives, and giving that impression makes the EU part of the problem, rather than part of the solution” the global labor federation said.
Since the coup, the junta has banned nearly all workers’ unions and arrested more than 300 union members and labor rights activists.
