BURMA: STRIKES HALT WORK AT SEVERAL RANGOON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000083 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP, IO AND DRL PACOM FOR FPA US MISSION GENEVA FOR LABOR ATTACHE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2020 TAGS: ELAB PGOV PREL PHUM BM SUBJECT: BURMA: STRIKES HALT WORK AT SEVERAL RANGOON FACTORIES Classified By: Economic Officer Marc Porter for reasons 1.4 (b and d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Workers at three or four Rangoon factories, all wholly or partially foreign owned, went on strike February 8-9. The number of participants is estimated to be as high as 3,000. By all available accounts, worker demands focus on increased pay and benefits. Some reports indicate the GOB responded with a violent crackdown; others claim the Labor Minister traveled from Nay Pyi Taw to hear worker grievances. We cannot confirm either story at this time. End summary. Workers Walk Out...But From Which Factories? -------------- ¶2. (C) Garment industry contacts told us February 10 that workers at three factories in Rangoon's Hlaingthaya Industrial Zone walked off the job on February 8 and 9. The affected factories included: the Opal 2 garment factory (Korean owned); the Tai Yi shoe factory (a Taiwanese/Burmese joint venture); and the Sunny shoe factory (Korean owned). It remains unclear exactly how many workers participated. U Kyaw Win, Secretary of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, estimated Tai Yi employs between 400-500 workers. U Zaw Min Oo, owner of a garment factory in the same industrial zone, estimated that Opal 2, together with a companion factory run by the same owners, employs 1,500 workers. ¶3. (C) A purported Burmese police report posted on an exile group website described the strike at the Tai Yi shoe factory which began at 7:30 AM on February 8 as a bid by workers to persuade owners to increase overtime wages, provide annual bonuses, close the factory or pay double wages on holidays, allot sufficient rest time, and change the format/contents of pay slips. According to the police report, 1,766 workers at the factory participated in the strike, of whom 1,689 are female. (Note: This workforce estimate is quite different from the one given by Kyaw Win of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers.) The Labor Department DG, local police commander, and military officials arrived just before midday and negotiated a peaceful end to the strike with 409 workers returning to work and the rest heading home, said the report. The report did not include any terms of the negotiations. This appears to have been the earliest strike and may have influenced the actions of workers at nearby factories. ¶4. (C) An Embassy small grants recipient with project activities near the industrial zone reported a strike began at the Opal 2 factory during the early evening shift on February 8. Workers there began the strike in a bid for higher wages, recently granted by some other factory owners, according to our contact. He added that while estimates varied, it appears that most of Opal 2's workforce participated. According to this source, police vehicles arrived sometime late on February 8 and removed an unknown number of protestors from the factory compound. ¶5. (C) A separate Embassy contact who lives near the area reported a strike at a fourth factory that manufactures instant noodles. He told us, in total, 2,800 workers from factories in the industrial zone walked off the job and presented their managements with similar demands: better pay, free transportation, annual promotions, more lenient supervisors, and health benefits. He said a combination of police, firefighters, and soldiers dispersed the protesters with fire hoses and batons. It is not clear how the contact had access to witness the events or otherwise obtain the information. ¶6. (C) An employee of the Japanese Embassy visited the industrial zone February 10 and observed "40-50 truckloads" of riot police in the area. He reported that the police had RANGOON 00000083 002 OF 002 blocked several roads within the zone with coils of barbed wire. Labor Minister May Have Responded -------------- ¶7. (C) U Kyaw Win told us Labor Minister Aung Kyi travelled from Nay Pyi Taw to Rangoon to oversee GOB handling of the situation. A second Embassy contact who works in the area provided a similar account and added that Aung Kyi actually negotiated with some of the workers. ¶8. (C) International Labor Organization Liaison Officer Steve Marshall says his sources indicated Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Home Affairs officials were actively involved and advocating on the workers' behalf in discussions with factory owners. Marshall was not aware of direct participation by Labor Minister Aung Kyi. Although Marshall verified that police and fire personnel were called in to keep things under control, he could not confirm reports that harsh law enforcement tactics were used to break up the strikes. Not the First Time -------------- ¶9. (C) Strikes occurred at factories in the same industrial zone in December 2009. Workers at a garment factory, a shoe factory, and a seafood cold storage operation went on strike for higher pay. The strike was quickly resolved. Though contacts in the industrial zone profess not to know the details, most are convinced the workers achieved some positive results, such as raises or transportation benefits, which they believe affected the calculations of workers in neighboring factories. Garment industry contacts report growing fear and suspicion of workers by management in the sector and told us that several factory owners have declared they will shut down if faced with labor action. DINGER