Irrawaddy-May
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has urged working-age citizens to remain in Myanmar, claiming the country offers “a safer and more secure living environment” than moving abroad. In his International Workers’ Day message on Thursday, he lamented labor shortages caused by migration but failed to address the reasons behind the exodus. Since his 2021 military coup, Myanmar’s economy has spiraled into meltdown amid mass withdrawal of foreign investment, Western sanctions, and civil war. These factors have triggered a collapse in the domestic job market, soaring inflation, and widespread business closures due to rising production costs and chronic electricity shortages. Many young citizens have been forced to seek work abroad, while those who remain face the grim prospect of forced military conscription. This has driven many to flee to countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and even Russia, despite its ongoing war with Ukraine.
The regime activated the Conscription Law in February 2024 and has so far trained 11 batches of around 5,000 conscripts each. Over 7 million Myanmar citizens have crossed into Thailand since the coup, according to Thailand’s Parliamentary Committee on National Security. Despite this bleak reality, Min Aung Hlaing claimed in a March cabinet meeting that “there are existing opportunities for people to prosper inside Myanmar.” In his Workers’ Day message, Min Aung Hlaing also made sure to remind overseas workers to remit their foreign currency earnings back home. Under remittance rules introduced in September 2023, migrant workers must send at least 25% of their salaries through Myanmar’s banking system. The regime has threatened not to renew the work permits for those who fail to comply. The Myanmar Labor Alliance marked International Workers’ Day with a statement accusing the regime of suppressing labor rights, including freedom of expression, assembly, and association. It also condemned the arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, and killing of civil servants, private sector employees, trade union leaders, and labor rights activists who oppose the regime. Read more at:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/junta-boss-issues-labor-day-plea-as-workers-desert-myanmar.html