Trade unions urge EU to review 'MADE in Myanmar' project

MADE in Myanmar stands for Multi-Stakeholder Alliance for Decent Employment in the Myanmar Apparel Industry.

A letter written by them alleged that acting in collusion with the military, employers in the garment industry have sent a list of trade union leaders and members together with photos and addresses to the country’s State Administrative Council (SAC) and directly threatened and oppressed workers.

On March 2 this year, the SAC declared 16 labour organisations illegal and has issued arrest warrants against trade unions and labour leaders, the letter said. More than 300 union members and activists have been imprisoned.

At least 53 union leaders and activists have been killed, many more have been forced into hiding, and basic standards of the UK-based Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) are not being met in the garment industry in Myanmar, they wrote.

“It is nearly impossible for individuals to act on behalf of workers or provide access to effective grievance mechanisms and/or remedies,” the letter, signed by the Myanmar Labor Alliance, mentioned.

“There is constant military intervention and repression of worker protests over wages and lay-offs, including showcase killings of worker leaders to stop workers from claiming their rights,” it said.

Disregarding all these, the European Union has provided €3 million to renew the MADE in Myanmar project, which is also funded by private sector retailers and fashion brand companies, the letter noted.

“The programme has no interest to address our complaints about this or workers’ complaints about their rights and working conditions. Nor has it any mandate and authority to address the military and employers’ interventions and establishment of the WCCs [Workers Coordination Committees] and yellow trade unions at the workplace. The project has become a tool for protecting the employer's interests and a propaganda project that legitimizes the military-controlled business environment under the SAC,” the letter said.

“Such a project only greenwashes exploitative business investments under the coup,” it noted.

The letter urged the European Commission to suspend the ‘Everything But Arms’ benefit to Myanmar, as its continuous extension contradicts every principle that grounds the trade policies of the EU, given the ‘anti-human crimes’ committed by the SAC against the people of Myanmar.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)