Stop Supporting Burmese Regime

By Peter Lewis

International unions have joined forces to place pressure on companies dealing with the repressive military regime in Burma to take their business elsewhere.

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In Burma, on any given day, several hundred thousand men, women, children and elderly people are forced to work against their will by the country's military rulers. Forced labour can include building army camps, roads, bridges, railroads, etc. Refusal to work may lead to being detained, tortured, raped, or killed.

Military officers issue written forced labour orders everyday. The ICFTU knows their units, rank, names and movements. There are only two ways to escape forced labour: paying for a replacement, or, when money has run out, fleeing before the army comes to burn your village and kill you or your family.

The International Labour Organisation has called on Burma's authorities to end the practice of forced labour since the early 1960's. In 1997, the SPDC refused to co-operate with a special ILO Commission of Inquiry into violations by Burma of the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (ILO Convention n° 29). In early 1998, it refused to allow the Commission into the country. In its report, the Commission of Inquiry said forced labour in Burma was a crime against humanity, likely to continue as long as the military stayed in power.

In June 2000, the annual ILO Conference adopted a Resolution calling on its constituents (Governments, Employers, and Trade Unions) to review relations with Burma and cease any relations that might aid its military junta to abet forced labour. The Resolution also called on all UN and other multilateral agencies to do the same. It came into effect on November 30 after the ILO Governing Body decided that it was not satisfied that Burma had done enough to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.

Join the campaign and view a full list of companies trading with Burma go to http://www.icftu.org

For further information

Contact:   Peter Lewis
WWW:   http://www.workers.labor.net.au

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