9 Mar 2021
Myanmar: Military allegedly arrests or files arrest orders for at least 71 union leaders in response to civil disobedience movement
Summary
Date Reported: 9 Mar 2021
Location: Myanmar
Companies
Regatta - Former buyer , Charming Garments Manufacturing - SupplierAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Workers: ( 1 - Location unknown , Clothing & textile , Gender not reported )Issues
Freedom of Association , ImprisonmentResponse
Response sought: Yes, by BHRRC
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Charming Garments Manufacturing allegedly supplies to Regatta; Regatta provided a response to a request for comment from the Resource Centre, stating its last order at the factory was shipped September 2023.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 9 Mar 2021
Location: Myanmar
Companies
AMG Garment - Supplier , ALPS - Buyer , Lidl - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Workers: ( 1 - Location unknown , Clothing & textile , Gender not reported )Issues
Imprisonment , Freedom of AssociationResponse
Response sought: Yes, by BHRRC
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: AMG Garment allegedly supplies to Lidl and ALPS Brands; Lidl provided a response to a request for comment from the Resource Centre. ALPS Brands did not.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 9 Mar 2021
Location: Myanmar
Companies
Popular Garment/Beaume International Garment - Supplier , JD Sports Fashion - Former buyer , Lidl - Former buyer , Regatta - Former buyer , Jeans Fritz - Buyer , Iturri - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Workers: ( 1 - Location unknown , Clothing & textile , Gender not reported )Issues
Freedom of Association , ImprisonmentResponse
Response sought: Yes, by BHRRC
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Popular Garment allegedly supplied to Lidl, Regatta and JD Sports; All brands provided a response to a request for comment from the Resource Centre. JD Sports stated it had not proceeded with production at the factory after authorisation. Lidl stated that it had stopped business with the factory from September 2021. Regatta stated it does not have current business with the factory. In September 2024, Iturri and Jeans Fritz were invited to respond. They did not.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 9 Mar 2021
Location: Myanmar
Companies
Bestseller - Reported buyer , KappAhl - Former buyer , Honor Apparel Garment - Supplier , LPP Spółka Akcyjna - Buyer , OVS SpA - Former buyer , LC Waikiki - Buyer , Kiabi - Former buyer , ONLY (part of Bestseller) - Reported buyer , C&A - Former buyer , Sinsay (part of LPP S.A.) - Buyer , House (part of LPP S.A) - Buyer , HK Works London - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Workers: ( 1 - Location unknown , Clothing & textile , Gender not reported )Issues
Freedom of Association , ImprisonmentResponse
Response sought: Yes, by BHRRC
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Honor Apparel allegedly supplies to or has supplied to C&A, Kiabi, KappAhl, LPP S.A., OVS S.p.A, BESTSELLER, LC Waikiki and HK Works London; C&A, Kiabi, KappAhl, LPP S.A. and OVS S.p.A responded to an invitation to respond. Kiabi stated it no longer sourced from the factory from April 2022, KappAhl stated its last order with the factory was placed in 2020, and OVS S.p.A said it no longer sources from the factory. C&A stated it no longer sources from Myanmar. BESTSELLER has previously stated it does not source from the factory. LC Waikiki and HK Works London did not respond.
Source type: NGO
"Myanmar: Unions organise general strike as military violently cracks down", 9 March 2021
Trade unions shuttered workplaces and brought thousands of people to the streets Monday in Myanmar, mobilizing a general strike as part of their continued resistance to the military takeover of the government on February 1...
In response to worker leadership in the civil disobedience movement (CDM), including other work stoppages, the military has declared at least 16 labor unions to be “illegal organizations” and has arrested or filed arrest orders for at least 71 individual union leaders, sources in the Myanmar labor movement tell the Solidarity Center. In 135 confirmed cases, workers have been fired for participating in street protests, while thousands more have had their factory jobs threatened if they participate further in the CDM....
Over the weekend, according to the Confederation of Trade Unions-Myanmar (CTUM), the military sought to arrest seven labor leaders, five women and two men: CTUM Women’s Committee President Swe Swe Khaing; AMG Garment Factory Union President Thet Mar Soe; Honor Garment Factory Union President, Sai Min Theta; Popular Garment Factory Union Secretary Treasurer Aye Thandar; Industrial Workers’ Federation of Myanmar union organizers San Sen and Myo Min Win; and Ei Ei Hlian, an executive committee member of Charming Garment Factory Union.
More than 60 people have been killed during the brutal crackdown on protesters and nearly 2,000 people have been arrested.
[...]