Myanmar’s highest independent labour organization has taken steps to file a class-action lawsuit against the military council to compensate over 70,000 government workers dismissed by the military junta.
Representing the mass of workers in Myanmar, the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM), with about 100,000 members nationwide, had been working as a member of the tripartite group with the government and employers since 2015 to settle labour issues, disputes and amending laws related with labour.
“On behalf of them, we will file a class-action lawsuit against members of the military council including Junta Chief Min Aung Hlaing in a foreign court,” said Maung Maung, Chairman of the CTUM,”
The suit will take aim at the properties of military leaders and their families in foreign countries.
“Their properties are not only in Myanmar but also in Singapore, Australia, US and in other foreign countries. The money to compensate over 70,000 governmental employees will come from selling their properties in foreign countries,” he added.
This attempt comes after the CTUM won in a move to reject the military council’s presence at the coming ILO conference by throwing its weight behind the ILO’s credential committee nomination from countries to be at the ILO conference.
“We do not have enough money to carry out this process. But we have free international lawyers, pro bono, who can help us,” he said.
CTUM has learnt how to proceed from a class-action lawsuit in the United States against an oil company. It took nine years to settle that lawsuit at the federal court in the US.
“It can take time. But, we are confident that those who are sacked from their jobs will be compensated someday,” Maung Maung told Mizzima.
According to a survey carried out by an economic university in Thailand, over 600,000 workers in Myanmar have lost their jobs after the Myanmar military coup.
And the survey also estimated that the exports from Thailand to Myanmar would decrease to 2 billion Thai Baht. In fact, the number of job losses caused by the military coup is more than that number, according to the CTUM.
The military council sacked over 50,000 university faculty members and teachers from their jobs causing a crisis in the education sector and terminated the livelihoods of health professionals and workers which is the main reason for the current health crisis.
“Termination happened suddenly and we cannot get another job in this situation,” said a 40-year-old teacher living in Thanlyin. He claimed he lost his job after joining the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).
The CDM supporting team formed by the National Unity Government (NUG) and private Myanmar donors living in foreign countries easily reach employees who lost their jobs for their support of the CDM due to banking system chaos in Myanmar. Every dismissed employee is struggling in this difficult time.
CTUM is preparing statistics on government employees who were sacked from their jobs by the military council. It is estimated that over 70,000 government employees have been sacked from their jobs.
After the military coup, the military council has issued an arrest warrant for 28 members of the CTUM’s central committee and declared their passports null and void.
Some have fled the country and live in exile and some are hiding to escape arrest.
After the military coup, several leaders of the member labour unions of the CTUM were arrested by the military council.
CTUM released a statement on 29 January that they did not accept any attempts to disrupt democratic 16 practices. The military coup happened on 1 February. On 3 February, the CTUM released a statement and denounced the military coup and declared that they dissociated from the tripartite committee with the government.
“The message we want to give is that the military council which carried out the coup has no ability to bring about the good of the country,” CTUM’s Maung Maung told Mizzima.
