"Protests highlight labour law shortcomings: activists", 27 Feb 2015

Labour groups have blamed weaknesses in the legal framework for an outbreak of protests at factories in Yangon that has resulted in confrontations between workers and police. While most workers from five strike-hit factories in Yangon industrial zones have agreed to return to work, some remain on the picket lines...Trade Union Federation (MTUF) said the Settlement of Labour Dispute Law was unable to resolve the current problems. “Laws that were enacted … cannot protect the workers. Not only are workers losing their rights but owners are also having problems too. These laws cannot solve [disputes] or protect both sides from losses,”...[W]orkers from the Red Stone, Costec, E Land Myanmar and Ford Glory garment factories and Tai Yi shoe factory – located in the Shwe Pyi Thar and Hlaing Thar Yar industrial zones – went on strike, issuing a range of demands to factory owners. While these varied between the factories, all groups sought a K30,000-a-month pay increase...[T]he Yangon Region government attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate with the workers, and three days later they sent police to close down the strike camps. However, this resulted in violence between police and striking workers...[T]he Arbitration Council created under the Settlement of Labour Dispute Law to resolve disputes, said both workers and employers regularly violated provisions of Myanmar’s labour laws with impunity...

Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association and the Yangon Region government issued a statement on the strikes, warning that they would negotiate but also take legal action in cases where the law has been breached.