Unions file complaints over Myanmar garment production

GENEVA - A global union announced on Nov 13 that it had filed complaints against three major clothing brands – Next, New Yorker and LPP – over their alleged continued sourcing of garments from junta-run Myanmar.

The Switzerland-based IndustriALL Global Union said that it and the two banned Myanmar unions Confederation of Trade Unions (CTUM) and Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) had filed the complaints against the three brands, accusing them of breaching internationally-agreed guidelines for responsible business conduct.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines call, among other things, for multinationals to operate ethically and responsibly regarding human and labour rights, IndustriALL pointed out.

That, it said, was impossible while operating in Myanmar, which has been in turmoil since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in 2021 and launched a crackdown that sparked an armed uprising.

IndustriALL – an umbrella group representing some 50 million workers through more than 600 trade union affiliates – warned in a statement that the textile and garment industry had become an important way for Myanmar’s military rulers to “inject foreign money into a collapsing economy”.

“Meanwhile, Myanmar’s military junta has banned unions and arrested union leaders,” it said, insisting that “there is no freedom of association; unions and other workers’ organisations can’t function”.

Explaining the complaint – filed at OECD national contact points in Britain, Germany and Poland, where the three companies are headquartered, as well as in the Netherlands – it also pointed to reports of serious workers’ rights violations and collapsing wages.

“Brands that stay in Myanmar are benefiting from an environment of fear, forced labour, and exploitation,” IndustriALL general secretary Atle Hoie said in the statement.

“There are widespread, comprehensive reports on the extensive violations of workers’ rights,” he said.

“Human rights due diligence requires worker involvement and independent verification, which is impossible under the military rule.”

IndustriALL is campaigning for brands to disinvest from Myanmar.

In 2022, discussions it held with several large garment brands concluded with an agreement on the responsible disengagement from the southeast Asian country, which so far has been followed by the likes of H&M, Primark and Lidl.

“There is significant evidence of systemic violations of workers’ rights and brands that remain in Myanmar cannot claim ignorance of the abuses,” Mr Hoie said.

“Brands that stay prioritise profits over human and workers’ rights,” he said, adding that the union was considering more complaints against the brands remaining in Myanmar. AFP