ILO Urged to Take Action on Forced Labor Issues in Burma

By VIOLET CHO
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org

March 21, 2008 - Labor rights activists and members of the main opposition party in Burma have urged the International Labour Organization (ILO) to take effective action on complaints about forced labor issues which they allege are widely carried out by the military government.

Myat Hla, a senior member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in Pegu Division said that as the ILO has made an agreement with the military regime in respect of the forced labor issue in Burma, they should take the matter seriously and help stop the problem spreading throughout the country.

“The military regime usually says that it does not practice forced labor, but in reality local authorities always force people to work building military camps, constructing roads and in many other ways,” he said.

Myat Hla urged the ILO not to believe everything the regime said. “The military government tells the ILO about how they will not arrest or disturb people who file complaints, but there are so many examples of the military breaking their promise by persecuting and arresting people,” he said.

According to a labor activist who refused to be named, the ILO should conduct mass education to expand public awareness and let people know that the local military authorities do not have the right to force them to “volunteer” their labor. He added that the ILO should also teach people that they have the right to make complaints in cases of forced labor.

The ILO organized a 12-day meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, which finished yesterday, followed by wide-ranging discussions on basic labor rights in Burma and other countries.

After the meeting, the ILO governing body called on the Burmese authorities at the highest level to make public statements reconfirming the prohibition of any form of forced labor and their ongoing commitment to the enforcement of that policy.

The ILO’s Executive Director Kari Tapiola visited Burma from February 25 to 28 and concluded in his report that the Burmese regime must take effective measures to restrain the persecution of the complainants and their representatives who provide information about forced labor.

The ILO governing body also confirmed their call for the immediate release of Burmese labor activists.

According to ILO reports, the military regime is currently detaining six labor activists who have been sentenced to between 20 and 28 years imprisonment after they had tried to organize celebrations and a seminar on labor issues for International Labour Day on May 1, 2007.

The ILO Committee on Freedom of Association has stated that the six persons referred to in the complaint were punished for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of association and freedom of expression. The committee has urged the military government to take the necessary measures for the release of the six activists: Thurein Aung, Wai Lin, Nyi Nyi Zaw, Kyaw Kyaw, Kyaw Win and Myo Min.

According to labor activist sources, more than 30 people who used to work on forced labor issues were arrested and are now under detention.

The ILO governing body called on the Burmese government to strengthen its cooperation with the ILO, and in particular with its liaison officer in Rangoon, to ensure the effective operation of the agreement and the implementation of its obligations under Convention No 29, prohibiting the use of forced labor, as well as the recruitment of minors into the military.

The ILO recently extending by one year the “Supplementary Understanding” agreement between themselves and the military regime, which aims to eliminate forced labor in Burma.