Free Our Unions salutes the struggle of workers in Myanmar for their rights and for democracy, and calls on the British labour movement to step up to support their fight.
We note and urge others to note the central role being played there by a political general strike against the military coup and for democracy, the “Civil Disobedience Movement”. The strike and associated protests have already faced repression: two people were killed at a protest by striking shipyard workers.
Workers everywhere in the world need the right to form, join and organise through independent unions; to strike by a process, at a time and for any demands of their own choosing, including in solidarity with any other workers and for wider social and political goals; and to picket freely, anywhere.
We must fight for free trade unions, untrammeled by state control, anti-union laws and employer interference, everywhere.
• One of Myanmar’s union federations, the All Burma Federation of Trade Unions, has launched an appeal for funds to support the “Civil Disobedience Movement” – see here. Please donate and share!
• Several UK trade unions and campaign groups including No Sweat and War on Want have published a statement supporting Myanmar’s workers’ struggle. Read the statement on the No Sweat website here.
Free Our Unions 