31 October, 2024A pillar of Myanmar’s economy even before the coup, the textile and garment industry has become an important way for the country’s military rulers to inject foreign money into a collapsing economy. And workers are paying the price.
More than 3,5 years after the military coup on 1 February 2021, the military junta still has a stronghold on Myanmar. September saw new airstrikes claiming at least 26 lives, including ten children, following on the month of August when the military bombed its own people 350 times.
Once in power, the military effectively banned trade unions and arrested union leaders. There is no freedom of association in the country; unions and other workers’ organizations can’t function. There are reports of forced labour, workers’ rights violations, increased precarious work and collapsing wages.
A tracker developed by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre monitors abuse in Myanmar’s garment industry. 556 cases of alleged labour and human rights violations at 266 factories linked to international brands were documented by the end of June this year.
Global solidarity and the push for accountability
During the International Labour Conference in June this year, the global unions called on the International Labour Organization (ILO) to invoke Article 33 of its constitution as the military junta has failed to carry out the recommendations given after an ILO Commission of Inquiry found serious violations of the Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Since the military coup, IndustriALL has campaigned with affiliated unions in Myanmar for brands to safely disinvest from the country. In 2022, discussions between IndustriALL and several garment brands operating in Myanmar concluded with a Framework Principles of a Brand’s Responsible Business Disengagement from Myanmar, outlining a responsible exit from the country. Primark, New Look, Inditex, H&M, Lidl and Fast Retailing have followed this agreement.
“Human rights violations in the country make it impossible to conduct business responsibly as companies are unable to guarantee the safety of their workforce. It has been proven again and again that human rights due diligence has not been possible in Myanmar since the military’s violent coup in 2021. With all the information available, brands who maintain production in the country cannot say that they don’t know,”
says IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie.