News
Thailand urged to resume process to legalise migrant workers
Labour ministry officials from Thailand are due to resume talks on 8 January in Yangon with their Myanmar counterparts on the status of up to 3 million Myanmar migrant workers in the kingdom. If successful, the negotiations could lead to an agreement that would legalise the workers’ ...
Labour rights groups surveyed ahead of meeting with Thailand
Myanmar labour officials are courting rights groups ahead of scheduled meetings with Thai counterparts later in the week. The consultation with local experts on 7 January will take place just before Thai officials land in Yangon for bilateral meetings on 8 and 9 January aimed at sorting ...
Riots keep Thai embassy in Yangon closed
The Thai embassy in Yangon has extended its closure over security concerns for its staff and Thai nationals after protests which started late last month against the Koh Tao verdict. Keep reading ...
China protests to Myanmar after landmine injures official
China said on 5 January it had lodged a protest with Myanmar after one of its border officials was blown up by a landmine after going to investigate an earlier explosion close to the frontier with the Kokang region of Shan State. A spokesperson for the Chinese ...
Authorities move to clear squatters from town water supply
Pyin Oo Lwin officials are cracking down on forest dwellers squatting near a road construction site alongside the city’s only water supply. The township’s Department of Environmental Conservation and Forestry blamed the squatters around Lake Thit Ta Pin Taung for causing forest degradation by lighting forest ...
Masked man at Koh Tao rally demands meet with Interpol
A masked vigilante on 5 January stood up in a swell of protesters and said he has evidence that can prove the innocence of two Myanmar men sentenced to death in Thailand. Ko Zaw Lin and Ko Wai Phyo were handed guilty verdicts on 24 December for ...
Factory bosses accused of firing labour leaders, ignoring arbitration rulings
Factory bosses are flying in the face of rulings by the arbitration council, ignoring orders to compensate or rehire axed staffers, according to worker representatives. Factory workers pin the root of the troubles, including abuse and mass firings, on the new minimum wage instituted in September. ...
Riverside dwellers to get new homes
Families living in huts on the bank of the Ayeyarwady River will soon be able to rent affordable housing from the city, officials say. Twenty-two six-storey housing blocks containing 1584 apartments have been built in nearby Nyaung Kwe ward in Aung Myay Thar San township. The ...
Military accused of ceasefire breach
In the first reported breach of the nationwide ceasefire agreement, the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) has accused the government of violating the terms of the accord by attacking its forces in the southeast of the state. Colonel Sai La, spokesperson for the Shan State ...
Stay or go: Abused migrants face tough choice in Singapore
After facing abuse and battery at the hands of their employer, Myanmar domestic workers in Singapore are confronted with a difficult choice: stay and press charges, in often lengthy investigations that rehash their pain, or return home and relinquish any opportunity for recompense. Ma Ei Phyu ...
