"Yangon Factory Owners Pressuring Workers to Back Junta Proxy Party in Election", 24 November 2025

Yangon factory workers say they are being mobilized to support the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the upcoming election.

Since last month, junta-appointed local administrators have visited workplaces to explain voting procedures and collect worker lists, while factory owners have urged workers to cast their ballots for the USDP.

A worker from Shwepyithar Industrial Zone told The Irrawaddy that employers themselves are organizing the effort...

Employees said they have already been registered by ward administration offices, but factories are requiring them to fill out additional voter application forms.

Another worker said employers are being “pressured” to accept election preparations inside their factories. “We have to submit registration forms, purportedly to vote,” he said.

Although workers say overt intimidation has not yet occurred, they fear that refusing to vote or turning down invitations to campaign could trigger threats...

Some employees said they had no interest in voting but felt they might be forced to participate if the pressure turned to threats...

Ma Phyo Sandar Soe of the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM) said ordinary people do not want to take part in the junta’s election. “Workers will try to avoid it as much as possible, but both employers and employees are under pressure,” she said.

International labor federations representing around millions of workers have already denounced the junta’s polls as a sham...