PCS hosting trade union conference on Myanmar
Join PCS at a one-day conference for the UK trade union movement to engage with the issues of trade union repression and human rights abuses in Myanmar.
Passed at last year’s annual delegate conference, Motion A296 called on PCS to ‘Work with the Myanmar unions in their struggle to win democracy and trade union rights in Myanmar’.
Organised by PCS with support from No Sweat, Global Women's Strike and the Peace & Justice Project, a special solidarity conference with the Myanmar unions will take place on Saturday 20 April between 12pm and 5pm in the Sarah Fell room at Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ.
Join us to hear from Burmese trade union leaders on the situation of the workers movement in Myanmar since the coup, learn how the Burmese people have resisted the military dictatorship, and find out what trade unions in the UK can do to support them.
Members are encouraged to register to attend this special event to show solidarity with Burmese workers and trade unions.
Why the event is taking place
On 1 February 2021, the military in Myanmar carried out a bloody coup, which deposed elected parliamentarians and has since killed, detained, raped and tortured thousands of civilians.
The same army that repressed ethnic groups for decades and carried out the genocide against the Rohingya people, forcing hundreds of thousands into exile in Bangladesh, has now forced almost two million more people to flee their homes and hide in the jungle while villages are being bombed.
Many trade unions have been declared illegal and their leaders forced to run for their lives.
Millions have taken to the streets as part of a general strike and street protest known as the Civil Disobedience Movement, risking their lives and their livelihoods, to demand an end to dictatorship and in support of democracy for Myanmar. The garment industry workers, overwhelmingly women, were among the first to come out.
As we mobilise with millions around the world to stop the genocide in Gaza, we must also bring support to people in Myanmar who face bombing, imprisonment, repression and exploitation.
If you have questions about this event, please contact ags@pcs.org.uk.
Read more about why international solidarity is a trade union issue on PCS Knowledge (login required).