Interim Report - Report No 397, March 2022

Case No 3405 (Myanmar) - Complaint date: 05-MAR-21 - Active

Allegations: The complaint contains grave allegations of continuing attacks by the military authorities against trade unionists, workers and civil servants who are calling for the return to civilian rule following the coup d’état in Myanmar on 1 February 2021. The allegations include intimidation and threats against trade unionists, workers and civil servants to ensure their return to work and to renounce their participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement, suspension from posts and use of striker replacements, withdrawal of benefits and professional competency certificates, police lists of workers and trade unionists for arrest, imprisonment and detention and numerous deaths following interventions by the military and police forces in peaceful protests, including the torture and killing of union leaders

1. 503. The Committee last examined this case at its June 2021 meeting, when it presented an interim report to the Governing Body [see 395th Report, paras 284–358 approved by the Governing Body at its 342nd Session]. 
2. 504. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) provided new allegations in a communication dated 5 October 2021.
3. 505. The Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population (MOLIP) and the Permanent Mission in Geneva provided replies in communications dated 9 June, 30 September and 3, 9 and 17 December 2021.
4. 506. Myanmar has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) but has not ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 507. At its June 2021 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations [see 395th Report, para. 358]:
   • The Committee regrets the serious deterioration of freedom of association and other relevant human rights occurring in the country and in particular expresses its deep concern at the allegations of attacks on striking workers at Mandalay shipyard resulting in two deaths and the killing and torture of Zaw Myat Lynn. The Committee calls for a full and independent investigation into the circumstances of these deaths and requests to be kept informed of the outcome.
   • The Committee urges the responsible military authorities to cease immediately the use of violence against peaceful protesters and restore the protections that had been assured by the Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of the Citizens, withdraw the surveillance powers that have been restored to the wards and villages, repeal section 505A of the Penal Code and amend section 38(c) of the ETA with a view to ensuring full respect for the basic civil liberties necessary for the exercise of freedom of association, including freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention and the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal so that workers’ and employers’ organizations can carry out their activities and functions without threat of intimidation or harm and in a climate of complete security.
   • The Committee calls on the responsible authorities to reinstate any civil servants, healthcare workers or teachers dismissed or suspended for their participation in the CDM and to restore any benefits that may have been withdrawn as a consequence so that their trade union rights are restored. The Committee further expects that appropriate steps will be taken to ensure that trade unionists and workers in the private sector are not penalized for having engaged in the CDM for the restoration of their trade union rights and that steps will be taken to ensure the restoration of their employment and corresponding benefits where this may have been the case.
   • The Committee urges all necessary measures to be taken to ensure that no person is detained in connection with participation in a peaceful protest action for the restoration of his or her trade union rights. The Committee further urges the immediate release of all persons who would have been arrested and/or detained for their participation in a peaceful protest for the restoration of their trade union rights and to be informed of all steps taken to this end.
   • The Committee urges the immediate withdrawal of the declaration by the military authorities of 26 February which declared 16 trade unions as not being legal.
   • The Committee further requests detailed information to be provided in response to the supplementary information and new allegations submitted by the ITUC in its communication dated 30 May 2021.
   • The Committee draws the Governing Body’s attention to the serious and urgent nature of this case.

B. The complainants’ new allegations

1. 508. In its communication dated 30 May 2021, the ITUC submitted supplementary information and new allegations which the Committee proposed to consider in detail upon its next examination. The ITUC raised deepening concern at the rapidly deteriorating circumstances in the country with nearly 4,000 people arrested and hundreds reported killed. Freedom of press and information is non-existent following the cancellation of five independent medias’ licenses by the State Administration Council (SAC) under the Ministry of Home Affairs on 8 March, namely, the Mizzima, Myanmar Now, 7Day News, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), and Khit Thit Media. The SAC further illegalized organizations that were documenting the military‘s atrocities such as the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) on 25 April for inciting public panic, riots and harming state stability. By 4 May, at least 80 journalists had been arrested during their reporting of the coup and the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Most of them are charged with the Penal Code section 505A and spreading fake news.
2. 509. The CDM remains under attack facing more violent suppressions by the military authorities. The ministries are systematically recruiting daily labourers and appointing replacements to substitute the civil servants on strike. By 10 May, 3,000 civil servants had been dismissed or suspended, 70 per cent being women. Information about the removal of 1,533 cases of terminations and suspensions of civil servants was attached to the complaint. They include as of 28 April 2021: 638 suspensions and terminations at the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE), namely 380 work suspensions in the Department of Hydropower and Implementation (DHPI), the Department of Power Transmission Control (DPTC) and the Ministry Office in Naypyitaw and Mandalay, 168 permanent staff in Mandalay fired under the Civil Service Regulation No. 220 and 90 staff fired in the electricity office in Myingyan; 90 terminations in Mandalay Electric Supply Corporation at the MOEE; 247 terminations at Myanmar Petrochemical Enterprise (MPE) under the MOEE; 69 suspensions in the Central Bank; 102 instances of suspensions, terminations, litigations and arrests against the staff of the MOLIP; 35 disciplinary actions taken against the staff of the General Administration Department (GAD); threats and intimidations of disciplinary actions against 22 employees of the Ministry of Finance (MOF), and 77 employees of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) under the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economy Relation (MIFER).
3. 510. The ITUC further alleges that the military council has taken over the Ministry of Education (MOE), universities and schools and replaced university chancellors, school principals and teachers and, on 13 April 2021, 32 university rectors in Mandalay, Yangon, Dawei, Kyaukse, Lashio, with military appointed personnel. There were reports of 990 dismissed and suspended education workers. Meanwhile, the Myanmar Teachers‘ Federation confirmed the terminations or suspensions of at least 11,000 academics, teachers and education workers between 8 and 10 May after having boycotted the re-opening of the schools by students, teachers and staff on 6 and 7 May which brings the total number of teachers removed from their posts to about 20,000. The following details were provided as examples of the terminations and suspensions: 369 terminations of staff at the district and township offices and from the legal and the research department of the MOE; 72 lecturers from Taungoo Technology University; on 28 April, lecturers from the University Of National Races Development in Sagaing, Yangon Distant University, the Yangon Technology University (YTU), and 2 lecturers from Yangon University were dismissed; 149 lecturers and staff of the Mandalay University of Foreign Language (MUFL), 249 professors, associate professors and dormitory staff of Mandalay University, 60 lecturers from Myitkyna Technological University, 91 teachers and staff from Taunggyi Techno University, 132 teachers and staff from Myint Kan University, 88 teachers and staff from Myint Kan Technological University, and 139 teachers and staff from Maung Bin University were dismissed on 6 May; 339 lecturers and 81 staff of Yangon University were dismissed 6 and 7 May; 731 terminations at the Yangon Technological University and Mandalay Technological University on 7 May; 55 staff of Lashio Technological University were suspended on 3 May; 34 teachers from Government Technical High School in Monywa and 46 teachers from Government Technical Institute in Hakha Chin State were suspended on 5 May; 339 lecturers and staff of Yangon University were suspended on 6 May; 546 lecturers and staff in Mandalay University were suspended by 6 May and 619 lecturers and staffs from Yadanabon University in Mandalay were suspended on 8 May.
4. 511. According to the ITUC, intimidation of workers aimed at depriving them of their right to peaceful assembly continues. In the MOEE and Mining, Oil, Gas and Energy (MOGE), workers issued a statement on 3 March testifying that many employees had received threats from the Government forcing them to not exercise this right and to comply with the Civil Servant Law in opposition to their rights. As these workers decided to continue supporting the protests and refused to recognize the military government, the MOEE employed replacement labour to take their place.
5. 512. In the railway sector, trade unions estimate that nearly 90 per cent of the 30,000-strong workforce under the Ministry of Rail Transportation have refused to work since the general strike on 8 February. In reaction, the ministry has evicted at least 1,600 railway workers and their households from government housing leaving them and their families homeless. There are reports of military raids at the villages where the evicted workers are temporarily sheltered by the voluntary CDM committees. One such raid was at Myinge Village in Amarapura, Mandalay on 13 April, where 25 evicted families were sheltering.
6. 513. The family members of healthcare workers have also faced pressure and harassment from the military. In Pathein, Ayeyarwaddy, 30 parents of striking doctors from the general hospitals were asked by the military to a meeting on 28 April 2021 to press their children to return to work.
7. 514. The ITUC states that it has verified 60 instances of arrests and raids targeting the trade unions involving 116 trade unionists and provided detailed information in an annex to their communication (the ITUC has requested that the names of the individuals be kept confidential to protect them from grave retaliation). The military occupied 60 schools and university campuses across the country on 19 March and beat up teachers attempting to enter the school premises. On 27 March, private tutor Kyaw Moe Kaing was arrested in Dagon Seikkan and died at Mingaladon Military Hospital on March 30 as a result of police torture. On 28 April, three educational workers from Yangon East University and one from Dagon University were charged under section 505A of the Penal Code for supporting the CDM, followed by six headmasters of basic education schools in Ayerawaddy and Monywa on 2 May.
8. 515. The ITUC adds that the mass arrests are targeted also against the striking doctors, healthcare workers and social workers many of whom have left the government accommodations and are staying with friends to continue providing medical assistance to those injured in the CDM. There are reports that the military vandalizes these mobile medical stations and the funeral houses looting the medical supplies and donations in the house raids. Between 13 and 28 April 2021, 215 doctors from public hospitals in Yangon, Naypyitaw, Thanintharyi, Sagaing, Mandalay, Kachin and Shan States had been charged under Penal Code section 505A.
9. 516. In Yangon, military crackdowns have escalated with intensified house and office raids to identify trade unionists and threaten the civilians who are protecting those in hiding with legal consequences under the amended Ward or Village-tract Administration Law. During the raids and random shootings at civilian houses on 6 and 7 March 2021 in Yangon, the military broke into a house to arrest 7 garment-industry union leaders who had gone into hiding. Around midnight of 21 March 2021, three trucks of soldiers were in operation to locate the offices of the labour organizations in Htee Hlaing Shin Housing, and exerted pressure on the landlord for information. On the same day, armed soldiers deployed in front of the office of a trade union federation and interrogated the residents in the neighbourhood. The house of the parents of a trade union leader in a village in Mandalay was raided and looted by the military on 13 April 2021. During the raid, the military beat up his twin brother and shot dead a member of the Myanmar Industry Craft Services-Trade Unions’ Federation (MICS-TUsF). On 15 April 2021, the director of Solidarity Trade Union Myanmar (STUM) was arrested by 40 soldiers during a raid of the STUM office in Shwepyithar, Yangon and charged under Penal Code section 505A. The STUM was amongst the 16 labour organizations banned by the military on 1 March. On 25 April 2021, an active member of the Building and Woodworkers’ Federation of Myanmar (BWFM) affiliated to the Confederation of Trade Union Myanmar (CTUM) and finance officer of the Hmawbe Brick Factory Union was arrested by the military at her residence in Hmawbe, Yangon. Her whereabouts is unknown.
10. 517. The ITUC further alleges that the military is arbitrarily stopping workers on the streets demanding that they give their mobile phones or pay a fine in order not to be arrested. Trade unionists are blackmailed by the police in Hlaingtharyar and Shepyithar industrial zones involving the township police chiefs and commander grade officers. The grassroots union leaders of the CTUM and Industrial Workers’ Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) who were in hiding have been led by brokers to the police stations where they were blackmailed to pay the police in millions of kyat (several hundred USD) in exchange for their safety from arrests. Armed officers are actively tracking down the contact details of the union leaders and demanding factory management to report them to the police.
11. 518. Added to the killings of two educational workers reported in March by the EI, namely, middle school teacher Tin Nwet Yi of No-10 BEHS (Branch) Hlaingtharyar, Yangon and teacher Myint Zin in Monywa Township, Sagaing, the ITUC reports 26 brutal killings of unionists by the military since the coup. Most of them were shot dead by soldiers and snipers while taking part in the CDM protests, or killed during the unprovoked, random shootings by the military. They are :
    • Two workers from Pouchen Footwear Factory (hereinafter footwear factory A) and members of Action Labor Rights (ALR), shot dead in Hledan, Yangon, 28 February 2021.
    • Two workers, a member of the ALR and a member of Mar Noddle Union, shot dead in the protest in Hlaingtharyar, Yangon, 28 February 2021.
    • Teacher Ko Lay, shot dead in the protest in Myitkyna, Kachin on 8 March 2021.
    • Bank worker Htoo Aung Kyaw, shot dead in the protest in Mandalay, 11 March 2021.
    • Tun Win Han from Mar Noddle Union and of ALR shot dead in the protest in Hlaingtharyar, Yangon, 14 March 2021.
    • Zaw Htwe from JCK union under STUM, shot dead in the protest in Shwephyithar, Yangon, 14 March 2021.
    • Bank worker Ko Aung Kaung Moe, shot dead in the protest in Yangon on 16 March 2021.
    • Two workers from Xing Jia Footwear Factory (hereinafter footwear factory B), shot dead when claiming back wages at the factory in Hlaingtharyar, Yangon, 16 March 2021.
    • Nay Lin Thu from Power Battery union and youth committee member of MICS-TUsF, shot dead by a sniper in the Army Day rally in Mandalay, 27 March 2021.
    • Teacher Zaw Lin Maung, shot dead in the Army Day rally in Mandalay, 27 March 2021.
    • Civil servant Ko Zi Lin Aung, shot dead by a sniper when making barricades in the protest in Pathein, 29 March 2021.
    • Ko Wei Zin from Tour Guide Association, shot dead in the protest in Mandalay, 27 March 2021.
    • Kyw Win Maung, member of the Engineer Group in the CDM Committee, shot dead in the protest in Mandalay, 27 March 2021.
    • Dr Phyo Tant Wai and Dr Thiha Tun, medical workers in the CDM Committee, shot dead in the protest in Mandalay, 27 March 2021.
    • Chan Myae Kyaw, member of the CTUM Youth Committee, shot dead in the protest in Salingyi, Sagaing, 27 March 2021.
    • Private tutor Kyaw Moe Kaing, died as a result of torture in custody at Insein Prison on 27 March 2021.
    • First aider Thar Zein Hein, shot dead in the protest in Monywa, 28 March 2021.
    • Bank worker Khine Zar Thwe, shot dead in the protest in Yangon, 28 March 2021.
    • Nay Lin Zaw from AD Furniture Union under MICS-TUsF, ambushed and shot dead by soldiers in South Dagon industrial zone, 29 March 2021.
    • Su Su Kyi, bank worker, shot dead in the protest in Yangon, 1 April 2021.
    • Worker from Fuji factory and member of MICS-TUsF, shot dead during the raid in Myinge Amarapura village, Mandalay, 13 April 2021.
    • University student Maung Yan Aung, shot dead in the protest in Phyu, 29 March 2021.
12. 519. According to the ITUC, violent attacks and intimidation of trade unionists in the private sector also continue, while no one is holding the employers accountable for labour rights violations at the workplace and there is no guarantee for the safety of workers who are forced to go to work. The ITUC highlights the indiscriminate attacks and brutality of the military in footwear factory B in Yangon. Six people were killed when, on 17 March 2021 at the Xing Jia (Myanmar) Shoes Company in Hlaingtharyar industrial zone, workers assembled at the factory to claim outstanding wages fearing that the owner would leave the country. These workers were locked in their factories by three truckloads of soldiers who escalated the situation shooting and killing six workers, including two workers who were inside the factory and four Ding Su villagers. Ten women workers locked-up in the factory were able to leave the next morning while 70 other workers were arrested. The trade unions have verified 25 of those arrested, including 3 workers, are in jail at Insein Prison since 12 April.
13. 520. The ITUC also refers to terminations in the private banks against workers continuing with the work stoppage. The Myanmar Oriental Bank in Mandalay (hereinafter Bank A) refused to grant leave to 197 workers and dismissed them on 27 March 2021. The bank also terminated 200 workers on leave for their participation in the CDM on 29 April 2021. The KBZ Bank (hereinafter, Bank B) threatened the employees with legal consequences if they failed to return to work by the deadline of 20 April 2021.
14. 521. Trade union leaders in the private sector are faced with imminent threats and security risks when they are representing workers in tens of thousands to negotiate with the employers over the wage arrears due to sudden factory closures or suspensions as a result of dropped orders or vandalisms. Disputes over unfair terminations are rising as employers use claims of unauthorized leave for more than three days to terminate workers and to evade compensation irrespective of expressed security, military blockade and other concerns by trade unions on behalf of their members. The IWFM, MIC-TUsf and labour organizations have condemned the run-away employers and those who have failed to ensure respect for trade union representations and freedom of association and workers’ safety and have demanded that due compensation and unpaid leave be granted to workers in consultation with the unions.
15. 522. In settling the labour disputes with the employers, leaders of trade unions and labour organizations are at risk of exposing themselves to the military or violence. The military is conducting inspections of the factories such as the one occurring on 3 May 2021 in Hlaingtharyar industrial zone of Yangon. Some trade union leaders have been told by the managers that the military has demanded a report of the whereabouts of the leaders and organizers, and that no trade union should be formed. No remedy is available to the trade union leaders to address the malpractices of the employers who are exploiting the vulnerable conditions for union-busting purposes.
16. 523. In its communication dated 5 October 2021, the ITUC supplements its previous information calling attention to the continuing dangerous and dire situation for workers and civil society in Myanmar. As of 28 September 2021, the Myanmar military had killed 1,139 civilians and protesters in the CDM, arrested 6,891, charged 1,989 of them and sentenced 293.
17. 524. On 22 July 2021, the CTUM and its affiliate in the garment industry, the IWFM indicated that the situation had deteriorated such that it was not possible for grassroots unions to operate. The workplace was no longer safe for trade unionists and the situation had been exploited by some companies’ management to remove trade unions or in some cases give them up to the military. They note that the military uses the ward administrators and factory management as informants for more effective house raids and searches for the active trade unionists and members in the CDM. Trade union leaders risk exposing themselves further by continuing union work or visiting the labour departments on behalf of their members. More and more grassroots union leaders and active union members have been put on arrest warrants for taking part in the CDM or supporting the National Unity Government (NUG). On 23 May 2021, the home of the President of the BWFM who is also a central committee member of the CTUM was searched by the military and an arrest warrant issued by the East Dagon magistrate was delivered to the ward administrator to hand him over to the military when he returned to his home. On 25 May 2021, an arrest warrant was issued to the Vice-President of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Federation of Myanmar (AFFM) who is also a CTUM central committee member and an elected member of the National Arbitration Council. On 3 June 2021, 124 arrest warrants were issued against members of CTUM’s federations including members in the central committee of the CTUM. Six of them have been charged under section 124 of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excite disaffection towards the Government, the military and military personnel. The provision was amended and the penalty increased from 3 years of imprisonment to between 7 and 20 years. On 14 and 15 June 2021, the MICS-TUsF office in Myint Nge, Amarapura and in South Dagon, Yangon was raided. The MICS-TUsF’s organizer in South Dagon was interrogated. On 4 September 2021, the military, in full force, came to a garment factory in Shwepyithar township industrial zone, Yangon to arrest two workers for participating in the CDM.
18. 525. For exercising their right to freedom of association, expression and peaceful assembly, the following education workers and healthcare workers were charged under section 505A of the Penal Code: 81 basic and higher education workers as well as university rectors, 23 of whom have been arrested and tried including a headmaster and 3 teachers from Myeik who have each been sentenced to three year’s imprisonment. The ITUC indicates that it has no information about the outcome of the trial for eight of those and the whereabouts of another nine who were arrested, including the President of the University Teachers’ Association, remain unknown.
19. 526. The ITUC adds that the military continues to attack the healthcare facilities and workers who are providing humanitarian aid to the CDM and treatment to COVID-19 patients in makeshift medical facilities: 241 doctors from all over the country including Bago, Shan state, Naypyitaw, Sagaing, Magway, Yangon, Mon state, Ayeyarwaddy, Mandalay, Kachin state, Kayin state, Rakhine state, Kayah and Chin states, and 69 nurses from Tanintharyi/Dawei, Ayeyarwaddy, Yangon, Shan state, Sagaing, Nayphitaw, Bago, Kachin state, Kayin/Karen state, Kayah state, Mawlagumyine/Mon state, Mandalay and Mogway have been charged with Penal Code section 505A.
20. 527. Finally, the ITUC provides information on additional trade unionists and workers arrested and detained since its previous up-date. A worker from Suntime JCK and a STUM member who was arrested on 15 April 2021 remains detained at Insein Prison. A senior organizer of the BWFM was arrested in Hmawbi, Yangon on 25 April 2021, charged under the Penal Code, section 505A and remains detained. A member of the central executive committee of the All Burma Federation of Trade Unions (ABFTU) and member of Sagaing CDM committee was arrested in Yaynanchaung Mandalay on June 13 and remains detained. On 14 June 2021, the home of the General Secretary of MICS-TUsF and a member of the Mandalay CDM Committee, U Thet Hnin Aung, was raided by the military after his parents’ home in Myint Nge village in Mandalay had been raided on 15 April 2021. On 18 June 2021, U Thet Hnin Aung was arrested and detained at Shwe Pyi Thar interrogation centre for weeks before he was transferred on 30 July to Insein Prison where his health condition deteriorated. He was admitted to the prison hospital on 24 August with a gastric haemorrhage. He is charged under section 17(1) of the Unlawful Association Act, which criminalizes membership or association with an unlawful association punishable by three years in prison. The MICS-TUsF and 15 other labour unions and organizations were declared illegal by the military government on 26 February 2021. The trial at South Dagon court began on 23 August 2021 without the presence of a lawyer. A garment worker in Hlaingtharyar was arrested on 24 August 2021 for posting her support for the NUG in social media. She was detained at Hlaingtharyar Police Station. A CTUM organizer was arrested on 28 August 2021 at a Monastery in Yangon for alleged association with the opposition, Peoples Defence Force (PDF), and remains detained. On 31 August 2021, two independent labour activists were arrested in the Hlaingtharyar region in Yangon for alleged association with the opposition’s PDF and remain detained.
21. 528. Terminations and suspensions targeting civil and public servants and workers in state-owned enterprises who are supporting the CDM, have continued: 366 workers have been suspended and dismissed by the MOEE, including the daily electricity workers in North Okklapa Yangon; 188 township electricity staff in Mandalay; 90 workers from Mandalay Electricity Supply Corporation; staff employed under the Department of Hydropower Implementation (DIHE); staff from the Department of Power Transmission and System Control; and the MOEE union office staff. More than 2,000 out of an estimated 7,000 employees of the state-owned MOGE have been dismissed: 1,473 workers in the oil and gas field and the fertilizer companies owned by MOGE have been dismissed (247 workers of Fertilizer Factory No. 1, 66 workers of Fertilizer Factory No. 5, 531 workers from Htauk Shabin Oil Field in Minbu, Magway, 86 workers from Letpanto, Mann and Htaukshabin Oil Field, 324 workers of Mann Oil Field and 219 workers from Yaynangyaung Oil Field). The state-owned MPE military has engaged at least 800 unskilled daily workers as replacement labour to enable them to resume the production at Fertilizer Factory Nos 3, 4 and 5; 900 MOGE workers in Minbu remain evicted from their housing since 30 March 2021. The Military Council issued a directive on 13 May 2021 conditioning the return to their houses on an apology for participating in the CDM. So far, the affected workers have not succumbed to this pressure: 645 civil servants and state-owned enterprise workers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MALI) have been dismissed including: 23 workers from Chin state and Sagaing region; 60 from the Myanmar Development Bank, Yangon; 137 from the department staff in Ayeyarwaddy; 182 Rural Development Department staff in Monywa and Sagaing; 74 staff in Mandalay; 81 staff in Ayeyarwaddy; and 88 staff in Chin state. 331 civil servants and employees of the state-owned Myanmar Economic Bank (MEB) under the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MFP) have been dismissed including: 194 Union Minister office staff in Naypyitaw, 91 staff from MEB in Chin state and 46 staff in MEB Ayeyarwaddy Division; 335 civil servants under the Union Offices of the Ministry of Education have been dismissed, namely 255 from Yangon, 54 in Kachin state and 26 in Chin state; 106 workers from the education departments have also been dismissed including, 16 staff from the Nuclear Energy Development Department and 90 staff from the Biotechnology Research Department.
22. 529. Additionally, the ITUC alleges that nearly 150,000 university and basic education teachers have been suspended from their jobs. They include 23,703 basic education teachers from 31 cities and regions with the highest number reported in Ayeuarwarddy (2,150), Yangon (1,922) and Tanintharyi/Dawei (1,832); 4,918 university workers including lecturers, associate professors, rectors and administrative staff have been suspended from their jobs. One third of them are from institutions in Mandalay (619 from Yatanarpon University, 499 from Mandalay University, 331 from Mandalay Tech University, 242 from Mandalay University of Foreign Language, 132 from Myint Kan University, 101 from Myanmar Aerospace Engineering University and 8 rectors from Kyauk Se University, Manadaly Computer Study and ICT Yatanarpon). University teachers and rectors from Yangon account for one-fourth of the total, including 766 from Yangon University, 189 from University of Education Yangon, 128 from Yangon University of Foreign Language and 122 from Hmawbi University. Others include 597 suspended high-institution workers from Ayeyarwaddy Division, including 218 from Hinthada University, 146 from Pathein University, 137 from Ma U Pin University, 49 from Technology University Pathein and 49 from Technology University Ma U Pin. There are also 1,185 dismissed education workers from other states, namely 340 from Hakha University in Chin state, 316 from Kalay and Monywa/Sagaing, 155 from Mawlamyne University Mon, 146 from Monyin University Kachin, 73 from Techno University Bago, 94 Taungyi and Lashio University Shan and 1 from University of Computer Studies in Dawei.
23. 530. The ITUC further refers to 457 hospital staff who have been dismissed and threatened by the MOHS with arrest. They include 408 staff of the Central Women’s Hospital, Mandalay who are under investigation and surveillance, 34 staff of Thein Ni General Hospital in Shan threatened with legal charges as well as 15 staff from Traditional Medicine Department under the MOHS in Naypyitaw. Attacks on medical personnel and facilities are ongoing. The military continues to occupy public hospitals, beat up the healthcare workers, damage, raid and confiscate medical equipment, drugs and oxygen cylinders and makeshift health facilities. More and more healthcare staff have gone into hiding as the military council has revoked the licenses of doctors and health workers who have joined the CDM. The military has also cancelled the business licenses of the clinics and hospitals that these healthcare staff work for. The UN has reported at least 260 incidences of attacks against healthcare workers or health facilities up to 25 August, and 600 arrest warrants have been issued against healthcare workers.
24. 531. In the transport sector, the ITUC alleges that 1,293 railway workers and locomotive enterprise workers under the Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MTC) have been suspended from their jobs, including 583 workers from Kachin state, 391 from Amarapura and Pyin Oo Win, Mandalay, 303 from Diesel Locomotive Company, Sagaing, 58 from Shan state, and 58 from Magway.
25. 532. The Military continue to deploy coercive measures to punish workers who continue to support the CDM and to force them to return to work. On 12 May 2021, the MOHS ordered public health workers on State scholarships for studies abroad who have expressed support for the CDM to return the scholarships to the Military Council. A deadline of 13 May was given and an order to all staff who have been on strike to return to work was issued. On 5 May 2021, the Ministry of Information (MOI) issued a directive to demand its staff to return the COVID-19 relief loans, equivalent to 2 months’ wages, that had been delivered under the National League for Democracy (NLD) government to the Military Council. On 11 May 2021, U Win Thaw, the deputy of the Central Bank instructed all citizens to deposit their money in the bank and that those who failed to do so would be legally charged for harming the State economy.
26. 533. In the private sector, the ITUC indicates that in addition to the above allegations, some businesses have taken advantage of the deteriorating human and labour rights situation to violate the right to freedom of association of workers and have failed to respect conditions of service rights, such as legal wage protections, entitlements, or severance and compensation in employment terminations, including those provided for in collective bargaining agreements and have not consulted with trade unions or workers’ representatives on these matters. The IWFM has documented cases of labour violations in the garment sector highlighting systematic patterns of violations of Myanmar labour law and the right to freedom of association. Trade union leaders and members have been targeted in particular for terminations in corporate downsizing or temporary work suspensions without any meaningful consultations. Trade union leaders and other workers who supported the CDM and were terminated have been blacklisted by some garment employers. Workers are being terminated arbitrarily without due process and justification and without compensation. Anti-union practices are underway where only non-trade union members or workers who have committed to disaffiliate from the union are re-hired to work after production activities have resumed. Permanent employment has been replaced with monthly or daily short-term employment contracts. In one case, workers were obliged to pay a lump sum compensation to the employer and surrender their ID cards and mobile phones to the management as guarantee for signing a new three-month contract. The downsized workforce is made to accept work of higher intensity and longer hours without overtime or night work compensation. Benefits and salaries are cut to as low as 70 per cent of the legal minimum with paid and sick leave cancelled. Workers are silenced and are afraid of filing a complaint for various violations of rights at work for fear of being reported by the management to the authorities. Specific examples were provided in the annex to the communication.
27. 534. Finally, the ITUC alleges that the military is using the COVID-19 measures as an excuse to further undermine the right to freedom of association and respect for workers’ basic rights and dignity. A COVID-19 prison lockdown has been put in place including the detention centres of the police stations depriving the imprisoned trade unionists from accessing legal aid and contacting their families under reasonable sanitary conditions. Meanwhile, police investigations and court rulings continue without the presence of lawyers. Prison lockdown has been imposed at Insein Prison since 8 July 2021, and in Bago and Ayerawaddy prisons since the end of June 2021. According to the SAC’s Deputy Minister of Information, at least 375 prisoners were infected with COVID-19 by July 2021, an under-estimated figure given the overcrowded conditions in prison with more CDM protesters and trade unionists put under custody. The health conditions of the imprisoned unionists and the inmates are alarming. The shutdown of information of new arrests, detentions and court procedures against trade unionists and CDM protesters further inhibit trade unions from exercising their right to provide solidarity support to their members including monitoring of the human rights situation in detention.
28. 535. The ITUC concludes by calling for urgent attention and redress for the violations against workers especially trade unionists and trade union members, as well as the attacks on trade union representation of their members. It further expresses its deep concern over the continued violation of workers’ rights by businesses under this heightened environment of military violence against ordinary people and workers.

C. The Government’s reply

1. 536. The replies of the MOLIP and the Permanent Mission of Geneva transmitting the views of some ministries were received on 9 June, 30 September and 3, 9 and 17 December 2021.
2. 537. As regards specific allegations of deaths of CDM participants, it is contended that there was a surprise check by the joint investigation team by the Tatmadaw, Myanmar Police Force and General Administration Department to the Suu Vocational College to maintain community peace and stability. When Zaw Myat Lynn was requested to open the door just after midnight, he switched off the light went upstairs and jumped to the back yard where he died of abdominal injury as he fell on a steel pipe fixed to the fence. The case was filed and after investigation, the police submitted the case to Shwepyithar Township Court and was being tried. Tin Nwet Yee, a protester, died of a heart attack after receiving a wound in her left arm while police forces tried to break up the crowd. The police station opened a file for an ordinary death case according to the certificate of post-mortem examination.
3. 538. It is further maintained that the directives issues by the MOLIP and the MOE did not contain threats to return to work, to be dismissed or removed or prosecute personnel who joined the CDM but only constituted reminders to return to work.
4. 539. With respect to the detention of Sean Turnell, it is indicated that he was found staying in a hotel with evidence that he received, collected, recorded and communicated to other persons using the official secret code or password, or sketch, plan and information note or other document, which endanger the national security or interests and was prosecuted under the Myanmar Official Secrets Act. He was also charged with violating the visa regulation under the Myanmar Immigration Law.
5. 540. As regards the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) submissions to the Office of the Commander in Chief of armed forces to replace the civil servants involved in protests, the reply contends that evidence needs to be presented to the USDP.
6. 541. As regards teachers taking charge in duties at the polling station during the November 2020 election, it is informed that out of 63 teachers, 37 voters and members of the commission were accused in 49 cases, 32 (concerning 45 teachers) of which were closed, 14 cases filed (concerning 15 teachers) and 3 were being investigated. In the 14 cases, only 6 teachers and 11 voters were prosecuted, 2 of whom were fined 30,000 Myanmar kyats, while the others are still on trial.
7. 542. As regards accusations of a general situation of violence and killings by the military authorities, it is stated that the initially peaceful atmosphere of protest groups transformed into riots by the third week of February through attempts to accelerate the CDM, as accompanied by intimidation and pressure of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) for external impact, evolving into anarchy and ultimately insurrection with terrorist acts due to leadership and intimidation of NLD radical members. The security forces thus removed road blockages and arrested rioters to ensure the State’s peace, stability, and rule of law and to control terrorist groups. This was all done in accordance with the 1956 Burma Riot Manual and the 2015 Handbook on Crowd and Riot Control. The security forces had to intervene however as terrorists continued to raid police stations and attack members of the security force with deadly handmade weapons. There were casualties among the terrorists as well as 80 military personnel, with another 117 injured. The number of causalities of police and civilians was 1,496, and 1,551 respectively. Photographs recording military personnel and police being killed while serving security duty at different locations, including COVID-19 checkpoints, and of civilians and civil servants being killed on their way back after serving at COVID-19 vaccination centres, were attached to the communication.
8. 543. Some media however are providing incorrect information to mislead the people about the military, while saboteurs are spreading this information in order to destroy the administration mechanism. Incorrect information about the number of persons killed by the security forces has been disseminated by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which is not an official association and was disqualified under the Registration of Association Law and its Rules. The death of over seven hundred people, including trade unionists, who were exercising their rights to protest against the military coup, could not be confirmed, while police records show that 361 people died, 193 of whom were shot by the members of security forces while clearing barricades and defending themselves from terrorist acts. The remaining deaths were not related to the security forces; 95 were assassinated by others, 13 were killed by grenade and mine attacks, 5 died while receiving medical attention, 10 died of diseases, 2 dropped dead and 9 died of wounds. The perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted for crimes in accordance with the legal procedures and appropriate sentences issued; 17 persons received the death penalty.
9. 544. The MOLIP further states that between 1 February and 15 April, the NLD’s radical members and supporters burned and destroyed 63 police stations, 62 ward administrator offices, 52 offices and departments, 16 bridges, 13 banks, 105 education offices, schools and other government buildings. According to the statements of arrested terrorists, 13 factories situated in Hlaingtharyar industrial zones, Shwepyithar industrial zones and Insein township in Yangon Region were burned and destroyed with the intention to disturb and stop business cooperation with foreign countries.
10. 545. Further reference is made to ten garment factories, two garment machinery factories, one electronic factory, one fertilizer plant, one bag factory, one polyethylene bag factory and one polystyrene foam factory which were set on fire between 14 and 19 March 2021 in the Yangon Region. Barricades were set to impede the fire engines and five police lost their lives, 163 were injured in violent attacks while four Tatmadaw members and one family member were killed. This resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in buildings, machinery and raw and finished goods and nearly 20,000 job opportunities. The MOLIP issued a notification for the insured workers to enjoy a 40 per cent average wage-assistance benefit and 766,155 Myanmar kyats was distributed among 13,610 workers and another 884 insured workers were issued 62,396 Myanmar kyats as social security assistance benefit. In order to stop such terrorist acts and to resume stability and community peace in the country, measures needed to be taken in accordance with the law such as investigating workers involved in the violence and searching suspects in the townships where the violence happened. In order to properly understand the real situation in Myanmar and to restore stability, peace and democracy, it is suggested that international organizations not rely on fake news and biased accusations in the media but rather cooperate with the incumbent government to get the true information.
11. 546. So far, 1,481 persons have been charged with punishment after being filed and proved to have committed a crime or violated law, such as the Penal Code or the Telecommunication Law. The MOLIP has not prosecuted any workers or trade union leaders under the labour laws. The leader of the STUM was prosecuted for disturbing the State Government and stability of the State. Those who were involved in the uprising, but not in the terrorist acts, and who do not support the CDM movement in terms of money or by any other means or do not join the movement are being released in accordance with the law; 5,315 persons have been released. Photographs recording the protesters who raised awareness about the prisoners who were released after being offered pardons were attached to the communication. Moreover, those who have been hiding for fear of being arrested and have reported voluntarily, to the authorities, have had their cases closed or dropped if they were found not to have been involved in any crimes or cases. As at 30 September 2021, 742 persons have reported to the authorities and their cases were closed or charges were dropped. From 1 February to 3 November 2021, a total of 47,869 prisoners received pardons and a further 4,434 cases were closed.
12. 547. As regards blocking access to mobile data and attacking freedom of the press, it is stated that the internet is being used to spread fake news, which undermines the stability of the country and the rule of law. Acts of violence and vandalism are also being encouraged. Thus, in accordance with article 34(b) of the International Telecommunication Union Constitution, Myanmar had to temporarily suspend all types of internet services in the interests of the people and in accordance with section 77 of the Telecommunication Law. Internet service was thus suspended partially or completely at various times between 15 March and 24 May 2021. While all types of internet services have been restored, some social media pages, illegal news media websites and websites inciting acts of terrorism and sabotage remain banned for national security and public interest.
13. 548. As regards the allegations of retaliation and penalties for civil servants not returning to work, it is stated that the punishment or replacement of academic and administration staff working at universities and colleges under the MOE was done in accordance with the Civil Service Personnel Rules and Regulations due to failure in their respective duties. Action has been taken individually according to the respective infringement of the law against three teaching staff from East Yangon University, one from Dagon University and six headmasters of basic education high schools from Ayeyarwaddy and Monywa; 33 officers and 86 staff were dismissed for absence without leave, which was in breach of or a failure to abide orders. Two staff were sent written warnings and one was temporarily suspended as she was detained during the time of absence without leave. Moreover, the allegations about substituting and appointing 32 new rectors at Mandalay, Yangon, Dawei, Kyaukse and Lashio are not true. The service personnel from the MFP were also dismissed for breaches of the Civil Service Personnel Law. All these actions were taken in strict accordance with the Civil Service Personnel Rules by the department’s enquiry teams.
14. 549. As regards the allegations concerning the suspension of 1,293 railway workers and locomotive enterprise workers from Kachin State, Amarapura, Pyin Oo Lwin and Mandalay, Shan State, Magway Region, and Diesel Locomotive Workshop (Ywahtaung), Sagaing Region under Myanma Railways of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, these civil service personnel also violated the Civil Service Personnel Law and Civil Service Personnel Rules. Since it was evident that they had committed the disciplinary offences, actions were taken accordingly, resulting in the removal of some of them, who subsequently appealed. Their appeals were accepted by Myanmar Railways as it is inscribed in the Civil Service Personnel Rules that the civil service personnel who were removed from their posts can submit appeals within six months from the date of removal. After necessary actions being taken, the civil service appellees were allowed to return to their respective workplaces. Presently, there are no civil service personnel who are either removed or suspended at the MTC.
15. 550. The MOEE replied that the public servants who were absent without reason and did not return to the workplace, even after being requested, had their contracts terminated and were suspended according to the Civil Service Rules and Laws.
16. 551. No detainees or arbitrary arrests have been conducted at the MIFER however there was an attack on the family members of the Deputy Director-General for not having participated in the CDM.
17. 552. With regard to the allegations of raids and searches of trade unionists in the health sector, the security forces neither attacked any health-related venues nor were they allowed to attack them. After 1 February 2021, with the incitement of exiles from the terrorist organization NUG and the instigation of the extremist members and supporters of the NLD party, a total of 68 per cent of civil servants from the Ministry of Health (doctors, nurses and cleaning staff) joined the CDM. As a result, 128 government and private hospitals were closed all over the country and 567 patients died from lack of medical treatment. Additionally, despite the efforts of the SAC, the members of terrorist organizations NUG and PDF targeted and attacked the COVID-19 prevention, control and treating centres in different divisions and states and during the period from 1 February to 29 September 2021, resulting in the death of 7 innocent civilians and civil servants with 22 injured and the deaths of 3 members of the security forces with 5 injured. Furthermore, 400 hospital staff from the Central Women’s Hospital, Mandalay, and 19 staff from Thein Ni Township Hospital who had been absent from work since February 2021 were still under departmental enquiry in accordance with the Civil Service Personnel Law and Rules. The Ministry of Health stated that it has not threatened any of its employees and that the necessary action would be taken to drop charges against healthcare personnel charged with Penal Code 505A who express their willingness to voluntarily return to the workplace and provide the commitment and recommendation letters.
18. 553. As regards the allegations of intimidation at Pathein General Hospital, it is stated that the hospital was understaffed as rumours spread that if the healthcare staff returned, they would be arrested. The Ayeyarwaddy Regional Administrative Council invited parents and guardians of medical officers on 28 April 2021 to explain the difficult situation and hardship on the local people. The chairperson guaranteed the parents that no legal action would be taken if the staff returned. As a result, 12 medical officers returned to work. The meeting was not an attempt to coerce the parents but rather to give a guarantee and explain the difficulties being faced. Furthermore, the civil servants from the Ministry of Health who were charged with violations of section 505A of the Penal Code can report to the Ministry – and request that the charges be lifted if they want to continue to serve in the Ministry –accompanied by recommendation letters from the relevant departments and a commitment letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
19. 554. As regards terminations in the private sector, it is stated that Bank B communicated to its employees to return to work through a notification on 12 March 2021. Employees were informed that continuous absence would be considered as abandonment and measures would be taken under the Labour Law and the employment contract. Bank B has never threatened its employees nor violated the labour laws and is still accepting individual applications from employees who left the workplace and would like to return. Bank A inquired with its employees as to the reasons for their not coming to work. While 1,125 employees returned to work up to 22 April 2021, 197 have not returned nor have they asked for leave. They have been out of touch and absent from the workplace for 74 consecutive days although they were communicated with several times to return to work. The 197 employees were therefore suspended as from 1 April 2021 in accordance with the bank’s human resources procedures.
20. 555. Workers from the footwear factory have received cash benefit including damages for termination of employment, wages and salaries due on 15 May 2021 and the factory has stopped functioning.
21. 556. Workers have the right to strike and the right to participate and discuss, as representatives of workers, in accordance with the 2011 Labour Organization Law, however assembling to strike has to follow the provisions under the Law on the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession. Conciliation is being made to get damages for termination from employment and money liable under the existing laws without delay.
22. 557. As regards the monitoring and response to violations of workers’ rights, as a general matter, labour and union grievances can be discussed at the Workplace Coordinating Conciliation Body and interest disputes are negotiated and conciliated in line with the dispute settlement mechanism and rights’ disputes are carried out by relevant departments. Aggrieved workers need to submit the dispute for settlement with the dispute mechanism and relevant departments.
23. 558. In conclusion, it is stated that the National Administration Council is implementing a five-point road map and the reconstituted Union Election Commission is scrutinizing and issuing the voter lists, which will be implemented under existing laws as well as measures to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure the speedy recovery of businesses. Emphasis will be placed on achieving enduring peace for the entire nation according to the agreements set up in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. Upon accomplishing the provisions of the state of emergency, a free and fair democratic election will be held in line with the 2008 Constitution and it is undertaken to hand over State duties to the winning party in accordance with democracy standards.

D. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 559. The Committee recalls that the grave allegations in this case concern continuing attacks by the military authorities against trade unionists, workers and civil servants calling for the return to civilian rule following the coup d’état in Myanmar on 1 February 2021. The grave allegations include killing, torture and other acts of brutality against trade unionists and workers who have participated in the CDM. Additionally, this case concerns serious allegations of numerous arrests, imprisonment and detention of workers and trade unionists for their participation in peaceful protests and acts of intimidation and threats by the security forces and military authorities against protesting workers and civil servants to ensure their return to work and to renounce their participation in the CDM, including through dismissals, suspensions, use of striker replacements and withdrawal of benefits.
2. 560. The Committee notes the additional allegations of 27 brutal killings by soldiers and snipers while participating in the CDM protest or randomly shot by the military: Tin Nwet Yi, Myint Myint Zin, Ko Ko Lay, Htoo Aung Kyaw, Tun Win Han, Zaw Zaw Htwe, Ko Aung Kaung Moe, Nay Lin Thu, Zaw Lin Maung, Ko Zi Lin Aung, Ko Wei Zin, Kyw Win Maung, Dr Phyo Tant Wai, Dr Thiha Tun, Chan Myae Kyaw, Thar Zein Hein, Khine Zar Thwe, Su Su Kyi, Maung Yan Aung, two workers from footwear factory B and members of the ALR, two workers, a member of the Action Labor Rights and a member of Mar Mar Noddle Union, shot dead in protests or at the Army Day rally in March and April 2021; two workers from footwear factory A said to have been shot dead when claiming back wages at the factory; Nay Lin Zaw ambushed and shot dead by soldiers; Kyaw Moe Kaing to have died as a result of torture in custody at Insein Prison in March 2021 and; a worker from Fuji factory said to have been shot dead during the raid in Myinge Amarapura village, Mandalay.
3. 561. The Committee notes the MOLIP’s general reiteration of its previous statements that the initially peaceful atmosphere of protest groups transformed into riot, anarchy and ultimately insurrection with terrorist acts. The security forces had to intervene as terrorists continued to raid police stations and attack its members with deadly handmade weapons. The MOLIP states that 80 military personnel died with another 117 injured, while the number of causalities of police and civilians was 1,496, and 1,551 respectively. The MOLIP considers that some media are providing incorrect information to mislead the people about the military, while saboteurs are spreading this information in order to destroy the administration mechanism. The death of over 700 people, including trade unionists, who were exercising their rights to protest against the military coup, could not be confirmed, while police records show that 361 people died, 193 of whom were shot by the members of security forces while clearing barricades and defending themselves from terrorist acts. The remaining deaths were not related to the security forces; 95 were assassinated by others, 13 were killed by grenade and mine attacks, 5 died while receiving medical attention, 10 died of diseases, 2 dropped dead and 9 died of wounds. The perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted for crimes in accordance with the legal procedures and appropriate sentences issued; 17 persons received the death penalty.
4. 562. The Committee further notes the MOLIP’s reply to its previous recommendation concerning the allegation of the killing and torture of Zaw Myat Lynn, that there was a surprise check by the joint investigation team and Zaw Myat Lynn went upstairs and jumped to his death. The case was filed and after investigation, the police submitted the case to Shwepyithar Township Court and was being tried. As for Tin Nwet Yi, the MOLIP indicates that she died of a heart attack after receiving a wound in her left arm while police forces tried to break up the crowd. The police opened a file for an ordinary death case according to the certificate of post-mortem examination. The Committee regrets that no information is provided as to whether a full and independent investigation was carried out into these cases or into the circumstances of two deaths at the Mandalay shipyard as requested in its previous recommendations.
5. 563. The Committee takes due note of the contradictory information provided by the MOLIP and the complainants in relation to the circumstances of the deaths and the number of those killed. While the Government contends that it needed to quell an insurrection, the complainants refer to violent interventions of the military and security forces against workers and trade unionists calling for the restoration of their civil liberties, civilian rule and democracy. The Committee further notes the MOLIP’s assertions that the information provided concerning deaths is inaccurate and emanates in some cases from an unregistered organization. The Committee must recall however the strong messages given in the Resolution for a return to democracy and respect for fundamental rights in Myanmar adopted at the 109th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) which deplores the death of over eight hundred people, including trade unionists, who were exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly in protesting against the military coup and calls for the restoration of the democratic order and civilian rule and for an end to all attacks, threats and intimidation by the military against workers, employers and their respective organizations, and the general population. The Committee further notes the Governing Body’s decision at its November 2021 meeting on the follow-up to the Resolutions concerning Myanmar adopted by the ILC at its 102nd (2013) and 109th (2021) Sessions which expresses its profound concern that the military authorities have continued with the large-scale use of lethal violence and with the harassment, ongoing intimidation, arrests and detentions of trade unionists among others and calls on Myanmar to ensure that workers’ and employers’ organizations are able to exercise their rights in a climate of freedom and security, free from violence, arbitrary arrest and detention (GB.343/INS/8/Decision).
6. 564. The Committee recalls that the rights of workers’ and employers’ organizations can only be exercised in a climate that is free from violence, pressure or threats of any kind against the leaders and members of these organizations, and it is for governments to ensure that this principle is respected [see Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association, sixth edition, 2018, para. 84]. The killing, disappearance or serious injury of trade union leaders and trade unionists requires the institution of independent judicial inquiries in order to shed full light, at the earliest date, on the facts and the circumstances in which such actions occurred and in this way, to the extent possible, determine where responsibilities lie, punish the guilty parties and prevent the repetition of similar events [see Compilation, para. 94]. Recalling its previous recommendation, the Committee firmly urges the responsible military authorities to cease immediately the ongoing use of violence against peaceful protesters and to carry out independent investigations into the deaths of all the above-named workers and trade unionists killed and to provide detailed information on the steps taken in this regard and the outcome of the investigations.
7. 565. The Committee notes the information provided by the complainants in its June communication of 60 instances of arrests and raids targeting trade unions and involving 116 trade unionists. In its updated allegations, the complainants refer to arrest warrants with charges under section 505A of the Penal Code or section 124 of the Criminal Code (which criminalizes attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excite disaffection towards the Government or the military with an increased penalty of imprisonment of between 7 and 20 years) and detention of: the President of BWFM; the Vice President of the AFFM; 124 members of the CTUM’s federations including members in the CTUM central committee; 81 basic and higher education workers as well as university rectors with 23 having been arrested and tried including a headmaster and 3 teachers from Myeik who have been sentenced to 3 years imprisonment; 241 doctors and 69 nurses from public hospitals all over the country; a worker from Suntime JCK and a STUM member who remains detained at Insein Prison; a senior organizer of the BWFM; an active member of the BWFM and finance officer of the Hmawbe Brick Factory Union whose whereabouts are unknown; a central executive committee member of the ABFTU and of the Sagaing CDM committee. The complainants also refer to a raid on 14 and 15 June 2021 of MICS-TUsF’s offices in Myint Nge, Amarapura and in South Dagon, Yangon and the interrogation of its organizer. The complainants further allege that conflicts in footwear factory B led to 25 worker arrests, including 3 workers being held in Insein Prison since 12 April. As regards the general situation, it refers to the arrest of 6,891 CDM protesters, 1,989 charged and 293 sentenced as of 28 September 2021 and UN reports that 600 arrest warrants have been issued against the healthcare workers.
8. 566. The complainants further allege that the General Secretary of MICS-TUsF and a member of the Mandalay CDM Committee, U Thet Hnin Aung, was arrested and charged under section 17(1) of the Unlawful Association Act due to the organization being declared illegal by the military government on 26 February 2021. He was detained for weeks before he was transferred on 30 July to Insein Prison where his health condition has deteriorated. His trial at South Dagon court began on 23 August 2021 without the presence of a lawyer and the following day he was admitted to the prison hospital with gastric haemorrhage. Additionally, the complainants allege that: a garment worker in Hlaingtharyar was arrested on 24 August 2021 for posting her support for NUG in social media; a CTUM organizer was arrested on 28 August 2021 at a monastery in Yangon and two independent labour activists were arrested on 31 August 2021 in Hlaingtharyar region in Yangon for alleged association with the PDF and remain detained.
9. 567. The Committee further notes with concern the allegations relating to the severe restrictions on freedom of expression such as the cancellation of five independent medias’ licenses (the Mizzima, Myanmar Now, 7Day News, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), and Khit Thit Media), the blocking of the internet and the arrest of at least 80 journalists reporting on the coup and the CDM and the impact this has on workers and trade unionists exercising their basic civil liberties.
10. 568. Finally, the ITUC alleges that the military is using the COVID-19 measures as an excuse to further undermine the right to freedom of association and respect for workers’ basic rights and dignity, including a COVID-19 prison lockdown, which deprives the imprisoned trade unionists from accessing legal aid and contacting their families under reasonable sanitary conditions. Meanwhile, police investigations and court rulings continue without the presence of lawyers.
11. 569. In reply to the Committee’s previous recommendations, the MOLIP states that Sean Turnell (a member of the National Tertiary Education Union) was found with evidence that he received, collected, recorded and communicated to another person using the official secret code or password, endangering national security or interests and was prosecuted under the Myanmar Official Secrets Act. He was also charged with violating the visa regulation under the Myanmar Immigration Law. As regards teachers taking charge in duties at the polling station during the November 2020 election, it is informed that out of 63 teachers, 37 voters and members of the Commission were accused in 49 cases; 32 cases (concerning 45 teachers) were closed while 14 cases (concerning 15 teachers) were filed and 3 were being investigated. In the 14 filed cases, only 6 teachers and 11 voters were prosecuted, 2 of whom were fined 30,000 Myanmar kyats, while the others are still on trial.
12. 570. More generally, the MOLIP indicates that 1,481 persons have been charged with punishment after being proved to have committed a crime or violating the law, such as the Penal Code or the Telecommunication Law. The MOLIP has not prosecuted any workers or trade union leaders under the labour laws. The MOLIP affirms that those who were involved in the uprising, but not in the terrorist acts, and who do not support the CDM movement are being released in accordance with the law; 5,315 persons have been released. Additionally, as at 30 September 2021, the cases of 742 persons who reported voluntarily to the authorities have been closed or charges dropped. From 1 February to 3 November 2021, a total of 47,869 prisoners received pardons and 4,434 cases were closed. The Committee further notes the MOLIP’s reply that internet is being used to spread fake news which undermines the stability of the country and the rule of law and while all types of internet services that had been blocked have since been restored, some social media pages, illegal news media websites and websites inciting acts of terrorism and sabotage remain banned for national security and public interest.
13. 571. The Committee must express its deep concern at the staggering number of trade unionists, workers, civil servants and others that have been arrested since the coup d'état’ on 1 February 2021. It observes with regret that the MOLIP’s reply, beyond the information provided concerning Sean Turnell, only provides global figures and an indication that the charges and prosecutions were all related to crimes under the Penal Code or the Telecommunications Law and that no one was prosecuted under the labour laws. The Committee must recall in this respect the deep concern it expressed on its last examination of this case in relation to these laws and its urging for the repeal of section 505A of the Penal Code, the amendment of section 38(c) of the Electronic Transaction Act (ETA) and the withdrawal of the surveillance powers that have been restored to the wards and villages under the amended Ward or Village-tract Administration Law. The Committee further notes the alleged abusive recourse to section 124 of the Criminal Code, which appears to echo the broad restrictions of section 505A of the Penal Code by making it a crime to attempt to bring into hatred or contempt, or excite disaffection towards the Government or the military with an increased penalty of imprisonment of between 7 and 20 years. The Committee further notes that the MICS-TUsF General Secretary was arrested for exercising activity in relation to an unlawful association and recalls that it had urged the military authorities to immediately withdraw their 26 February declaration of a number of trade unions as unlawful in its previous examination of the case. The Committee firmly urges the repeal and amendment of the above-mentioned laws and the withdrawal of the declaration of the trade unions declared as unlawful so as to ensure full respect for the basic civil liberties necessary for the exercise of freedom of association, including freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention and the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal so that workers’ and employers’ organizations can carry out their activities and functions without threat of intimidation or harm and in a climate of complete security. Regretting that no specific information has been provided in respect of the numerous cases of arrest brought forward in the latest allegations, nor on the outcomes of any independent investigations as requested in the previous examination of this case, the Committee calls on the military authorities to take the necessary steps without delay to ensure the immediate release and dropping of charges against all these trade unionists and workers arrested for peacefully protesting for the restoration of their trade union rights and democracy in the country, including those mentioned in its previous examination (20 union leaders in Hlaingtharyar industrial zone, including 6 CTUM central committee members, and 7 members of the Myanmar Transport Federation in Insein township, an engineer in Ayeyarwaddy and Sean Turnell) and to provide detailed information on the steps taken in this regard. As regards the arrest on 15 April 2021 of the director of the STUM, the Committee observes from publicly verifiable information that she has been released.
14. 572. The Committee notes the complainants’ allegations of massive dismissals, suspensions and disciplinary actions against civil servants who had participated in the CDM (3,000 dismissed or suspended, including 638 suspensions and terminations at the MOEE, 69 suspensions in the Central Bank, 102 instances of suspensions, terminations, litigations and arrests against the staff of the MOLIP, 35 disciplinary actions taken against the staff of the GAD, threats and intimidations of disciplinary actions against 22 employees of the MOF, and 77 employees of the DICA under the MIFER). The complainants further allege that the military council has taken over the MOE, universities and schools and replaced university chancellors, school principals and teachers and additional terminations or suspensions reported by the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation following a boycott of the re-opening of the schools bringing the total number of teachers removed from their posts to about 20,000. According to the complainants, nearly 150,000 university and basic education teachers have been suspended from their jobs. Additional allegations are made of the dismissal of more than 2,000 employees of the state-owned MOGE, 645 civil servants and state-owned enterprise workers from the MALI, 331 civil servants and employees of the state-owned MEB under the MFP and 457 hospital staff. The complainants further allege that healthcare staff have gone into hiding as the military council has revoked the licenses of doctors and the health workers who have joined the CDM and the business licenses of the respective clinics and hospitals have been cancelled. Additional allegations are made that the intimidation of workers aimed at depriving them of their right to peaceful assembly continues more generally through the use of replacement labour and as regards the MRT, evictions of those refusing to work followed by military raids at the villages where the evicted workers are temporarily sheltered by the voluntary CDM committees.
15. 573. According to the complainants, further measures of intimidation have been taken such as those from the MOHS ordering public health workers on State scholarships for studies abroad who have expressed support for the CDM to return the scholarships to the Military Council, the directive from the MOI demanding its staff to return the COVID-19 relief loans equivalent to 2 months’ wages that had been delivered under the National League for Democracy (NLD) government or the instruction by the deputy of the Central Bank to all citizens to deposit their money in the bank failing which they would be charged with harming the state economy.
16. 574. As regards the allegations of retaliation and penalties for civil servants not returning to work, the reply states that the punishment or replacement of academic and administration staff working at universities and colleges under the MOE was done so in accordance with the Civil Service Personnel Rules and Regulations due to their failing in their respective duties. Similarly, this is said to be the case for the 1,293 suspended railway workers and locomotive enterprise workers who, following their appeals, were allowed to return to their respective workplaces. The reply affirms that there is no civil service personnel removed or suspended at the MTC. The MOEE indicates for its part that those who were absent without reason and did not return to the workplace after being requested were also terminated and suspended according to the Civil Service Rules and Laws.
17. 575. As regards the health sector, the MOHS states that no health-related venues were attacked by the security but that, with the incitement of the exiled terrorist organization NUG, a total of 68 per cent of the MOHS civil servants joined the CDM, resulting in the closure of hundreds of public and private hospitals and deaths from lack of medical treatment. Hundreds of hospital staff who had been absent from work since February 2021 were still under departmental enquiry in accordance with the Civil Service Personnel Law and Rules. The MOHS stated that it has not threatened any of its employees and that the necessary action would be taken to drop charges against healthcare personnel charged with Penal Code 505A who express their willingness to voluntarily return to the workplace and provide the accompanying documentation.
18. 576. As regards the allegation of military pressure and harassment on family members of healthcare workers, with specific reference to a military convoked meeting of family members of workers at Pathein hospital, the Committee notes the MOHS’s reply that the meeting was not an attempt to coerce the parents but rather to give a guarantee and explain the difficulties being faced in the hospital and that those workers charged under section 505A of the Penal Code can request that the charges be dropped if they wish to return to work, accompanied by the relevant documents.
19. 577. While noting the general observations made by the MOLIP and other ministries and the contradictory information provided in some instances concerning the peaceful nature of the exercise of freedom of assembly, the Committee must deplore the evident chaos resulting from the coup d'état’ on 1 February 2021 and the massive allegations of intimidation and harassment, including through dismissals, suspensions and other disciplinary measures of trade unionists and workers exercising their civil liberties for the return to civilian rule and democratic order. The Committee recalls that for the contribution of trade unions and employers’ organizations to be properly useful and credible, they must be able to carry out their activities in a climate of freedom and security. This implies that, in so far as they may consider that they do not have the basic freedom to fulfil their mission directly, trade unions and employers’ organizations would be justified in demanding that these freedoms and the right to exercise them be recognized and that these demands be considered as coming within the scope of legitimate trade union activities [see Compilation, para. 75]. The Committee once again calls on the responsible authorities to reinstate any civil servants, healthcare workers or teachers dismissed or suspended for their participation in the CDM and to restore any benefits that may have been withdrawn.
20. 578. The complainants further allege that some businesses in the private sector have taken advantage of the deteriorating human and labour rights situation to violate the right to freedom of association of workers and have failed to respect conditions of service rights, such as legal wage protections, entitlements, or severance and compensation in employment terminations, including those provided for in collective bargaining agreements and have not consulted with trade unions or workers’ representatives on these matters. Trade union leaders and other workers who supported the CDM and were terminated have been blacklisted by some garment employers. Workers are being terminated arbitrarily without due process and justification and without compensation and only non-trade union members or workers who have committed to disaffiliate from the unions are re-hired to work after production activities have resumed. Permanent employment has been replaced with monthly or daily short-term employment contracts and a downsized workforce is forced to work overtime or at night without compensation, benefits and salaries cut below the legal minimum and paid and sick leave cancelled. Workers are silenced and are afraid of filing a complaint for various violation of rights at work for fear of being reported by the management to the authorities. According to the ITUC, violent attacks and intimidation of trade unionists in the private sector continue, while no one is holding the employers accountable for labour rights violations at the workplace and there is no guarantee for the safety of workers who are forced to go to work and no remedy available to trade union leaders to address the malpractices of the employers who are exploiting the vulnerable conditions for union busting purposes. The complainants conclude that trade union leaders in the private sector are faced with imminent threats and security risks when they are representing workers in tens of thousands to negotiate with the employers over the wage arrears due to sudden factory closures or suspensions as a result of dropped orders or vandalisms.
21. 579. The MOLIP replies in general that workers have the right to strike and the right to participate and discuss as representatives of workers in accordance with the 2011 Labour Organization Law however assembling to strike has to follow the provisions under the Law on the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession. Conciliation is being made to get damages for termination from employment and money liable under the existing laws without delay. As regards the monitoring and response to violations of workers’ rights, labour and unionist grievances can be discussed at the Workplace Coordinating Conciliation Body and interest disputes negotiated and conciliated in line with the dispute settlement mechanism and rights’ disputes carried out by relevant departments. Aggrieved workers need to submit the dispute for settlement with the dispute mechanism and relevant departments. As regards dismissals at banks, it is stated that the employees were fully informed that they would be dismissed if they did not return to work.
22. 580. The Committee recalls its previous recommendation that appropriate steps be taken to ensure that trade unionists and workers in the private sector are not penalized for having engaged in the CDM for the restoration of their trade union rights and requests to be informed of the specific measures taken in this regard.
23. 581. The Committee must express its profound concern at the serious deterioration of freedom of association and other relevant human rights in Myanmar. It takes due note of the MOLIP’s indication that the National Administration Council is implementing a five-point road map and the reconstituted Union Election Commission is scrutinizing and issuing the voter lists which will be implemented under existing laws as well as measures to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure the speedy recovery of businesses with an emphasis to be placed on achieving enduring peace for the entire nation according to the agreements set up in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. According to the MOLIP, once the provisions of the state of emergency have been accomplished, a free and fair democratic election will be held in line with the 2008 Constitution and undertaken to hand over State duties to the winning party in accordance with democracy standards.
24. 582. The Committee deeply regrets the numerous steps taken since 1 February, which have led to a further decline in the protection of the civil liberties necessary for workers and employers to be able to carry out their trade union activities in a climate of complete freedom and security. The Committee urges the military authorities to recognize the critical importance of ensuring these rights and freedoms to the workers and employers of the country as a necessary prerequisite for the restoration of democracy and the exercise of trade union activities.
25. 583. Finally, the Committee notes that the mass number of pardons issued in 2021 bears witness to the staggering number of arrests and detentions that have been made over the year since the coup d'état of 1 February. Moreover, while the MOLIP asserts the legitimacy of the disciplinary actions taken against participants in the CDM, it does not contest the extensive nature of the dismissals, suspensions and disciplinary measures. Observing the magnitude of the task of reviewing all the cases brought before it, and bearing in mind the MOLIP’s indication that in order to properly understand the real situation in Myanmar and to restore stability, peace and democracy, international organizations should not rely on fake news and biased accusations in the media but rather cooperate with incumbent government to get the true information, the Committee considers that the institution of an independent investigative authority would be a necessary measure to bring justice to those who have peacefully exercised their rights of freedom of assembly, expression and association and requests to be informed of the measures taken in this regard.

The Committee’s recommendations

1. 584. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee firmly urges the responsible military authorities to cease immediately the ongoing use of violence against peaceful protesters and to carry out independent investigations into the deaths of all the above-named workers and trade unionists killed in relation to protest actions and the exercise of their basic civil liberties, including fundamental freedom of association rights, and to provide detailed information on the steps taken in this regard and the outcome of the investigations.
   • (b) The Committee firmly urges the repeal and amendment of section 505A of the Penal Code, section 124 of the Criminal Code, section 38(c) of the Electronic Transaction Act (ETA), the withdrawal of the surveillance powers that were restored to the wards and villages under the amended Ward or Village-tract Administration Law and the withdrawal of the declaration of the trade unions declared as unlawful so as to ensure full respect for the basic civil liberties necessary for the exercise of freedom of association, including freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention and the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal so that workers’ and employers’ organizations can carry out their activities and functions without threat of intimidation or harm and in a climate of complete security.
   • (c) The Committee expects that all the cases of trade unionists and workers arrested or detained for action in relation to the restoration of their trade union rights and democracy in the country will be investigated and that steps will be taken without delay to ensure their immediate release. It requests to be informed of all steps taken to this end.
   • (d) The Committee once again calls on the responsible authorities to reinstate any civil servants, healthcare workers or teachers dismissed or suspended for their participation in the CDM and to restore any benefits that may have been withdrawn.
   • (e) The Committee recalls its previous recommendation that appropriate steps be taken to ensure that trade unionists and workers in the private sector are not penalized for having engaged in the CDM for the restoration of their trade union rights and requests to be informed of the specific measures taken in this regard.
   • (f) Observing the magnitude of the task of reviewing all the cases brought before it, the Committee considers that the institution of an investigative authority independent of the military would be a necessary measure to bring justice to those who have peacefully exercised their rights of freedom of assembly, expression and association and requests to be informed of the measures taken in this regard.
   • (g) The Committee urges the military authorities to recognize the critical importance of ensuring these rights and freedoms to the workers and employers of the country as a necessary prerequisite to any legitimate democracy and the sustainable development of the country.
   • (h) The Committee draws the Governing Body’s attention to the extreme seriousness and urgency of this case.