BURMESE WORKERS IN A STATE OF FORCED LABOUR
WITHIN AND WITHOUT BURMA*

Jason Douglas Hoge**

1. INTRODUCTION

“What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails, more books and less arsenals, more learning and less vice, more constant work and less crime, more leisure and less greed, more justice and less revenge. In fact more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures, to make manhood more noble, womanhood more beautiful and childhood more happy and bright.”

—*Samuel Gompers*—

“The American labor movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all America. Those who would destroy or further limit the rights of organized labor—those who cripple collec­tive bargaining or prevent organization of the unorganized—do a disservice to the cause of democracy.”

—*John F. Kennedy*—

Entwined with the very foundational principals of democracy are the rights to unionize and to collective bargaining. This truism is made clear by the fact that all nations which have earned the right to call themselves democratic and free nations have enshrined the right to freedom of association and assembly within their constitutions and these rights are guaranteed by their laws. The freedom of association was so fundamental to the founding fathers of the United States that the principal was enumerated within the Bill of Rights and set forth by the very first amendment of the US Constitution: “[T]he right of the people to peace­ably assemble”. ¹ Unions have played a predominant role in achieving the promises of democratic societies, such as equality, justice, and freedom. During the early 19^th Century when industrialization was emerging the unions protected impoverished labours from exploitation and actually strengthened the evolution of capitalism by preventing the implosion of the system predicted by such thinkers as Karl Marx.² Equality was delivered through the struggles of agricultural unions such as Ceasar Estrada Chavez’s United Farm Workers in obtaining fair work treatment for Latino migrant workers in the United States. The ensuring of the freedoms of association and assembly are crucial to the establishment of an authentic democracy and in return the right to unionize and collective bargaining guarantee that all classes of the society have access to the promises of democracy. Unions play an essential role in civil society in that they provide a mechanism by which people can come together to exercise the rights and freedoms promised by their nations and protect themselves against the often limitless resources employed by industry to deprive them of these rights and freedoms.

Article 2 of Convention No. 87 of the International Labor Organization states, “Workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, to join organizations of their own choosing without previous authorization”.³ The Union of Burma ratified Convention No. 87 in 1955 and The Trade Unions Act⁴ in Volume 5 of the Burma Code recognizes the right to unionize, albeit with the prior consent of the government. Section 3 of the Trade Dispute Act⁵ established Boards of Conciliation and Courts of Arbitration where workers could exercise their rights to collective bargaining and effectively protect themselves against exploitation. Furthermore, under the Burma Code Volume 5 workers interests were protected in accordance with The Workmen’s Compensation Act⁶ and The Payment of Wages Act⁷. Prior to the reign of the military regimes Burmese workers’ freedoms to unionize and collectively bargain were protected under Burmese Law. However, under the oppressive rule of the successive junta’s all independent trades unions have been extinguished, public sector wages are unilaterally set by the regime and the private sector is coerced by the regime to set wages below the public sector.

The Burmese people are victims twice over in regards to being denied their freedom of association and assembly in relation to the right to unionize and collective bargaining.  Under the crushing oppression of the State Peace and Development Council (herein after the SPDC) independent labor unions are nonexistent and instead civil servants, blue- and white collar workers are coerced into the Union Solidarity Development Association, a mere front for the junta and tool for indoctrination.¹⁰ The regime in Burma has promulgated numerous laws that restrict the freedom of association and the formations of independent unions. Such laws as the 1950 Emergency Provision Act, which is the most commonly used provision by the regime to oppress the Burmese people and the Unlawful Associations Act are utilized to prevent the formation of independent trade unions. The Unlawful Associations Act allows for up to three years of detention for anyone involved in or assisting an unlawful association: “Unlawful Association” means an association-

• a. which encourages or aids persons to commit acts of violence or intimidation or of which members habitually commit such acts, or
• b. which has been declared to be unlawful by the President of the Union under powers hereby conferred.
  

1. U.S. Const. amend. I

2.. Karl Marx, Ökonomisch-philosophische Manuskripte aus dem Jahre (1844).

3. C. 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of Right to Organize, 1948

4. The Trade Unions Act [India Act XVI, 1926], Inserted by Act XVI, 1949, which came into force 1st August 1949.

5. The Trade Dispute Act [India Act VII, 1929], Inserted by Act, X, 1950.

6. The Workmen’s Compensation Act [India Act VIII, 1923], Substituted by Act LII, 1951, which came into force on 1st January 1952.

7. The Payment of Wages Act [India Act IV, 1936], Substituted by Act XVII, 1949, which with exception of sec. 4 thereof, came into force 1st August, 1949.

8. C. No. 98, Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining, 1949.

9. SLORC Law No. 6/88 of Sept. 30, 1988

10. See, No Room to Move: Legal Constraints on Civil Society in Burma, Zunetta Liddell (1999).