The SAC, a TERRORIST organization, has no legitimacy to take any legal action against the CTUM, or any other legal organizations, and must be held accountable to the violation of labour rights.

02 October 2023

Following the formal but illegitimate gazetting of the establishment of three levels of committee to manufacture responses to the report of the International Labour Organisation COI, we, the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM) point out that neither the SAC, nor any institutions established by the SAC has any right to take action against legitimately established and formally registered organizations in Myanmar.

It is important that the SAC established committees understand the ILO mechanisms, the procedures that are followed, and the principles that are applied before they compound the situation for themselves more than the case at the current time.

The SAC/ MOL committees for the response to the COI should study well how the International Labor Organization works.

– In response to the assessment of the situation in Myanmar by the ILO Committee of Experts, the Tripartite member stakeholders in the Governing Body (the Gov representatives, the Employers representatives, the Workers representatives) jointly decided on the establishment of the COI.

– That decision was further confirmed by the International Labour Conference (ILC) , which adopted the budget to support the activities.

– Decisions of the ILO constituents are made in respect of the provision and required application of the International Labour Standards, the ILO Office has no role in that decision making. 

– The COI commenced its work independent of the Office following the decision by the Governing Body. 

The SAC/MOL committees also need to know that since 1992  the ILO, its Committee of Experts, the International Trade union Confederations and the Global Labour Union Federations  have collected a considerable volume of evidences of violations of workers rights by the successive military regimes.  This includes evidence concerning human rights breaches committed / ordered by the current SAC appointee responsible for Labour matters at the time at which he was a commander of the SE Military Command.

The CTUM, as a legitimate labour organization, continues to work in solidarity with the International Trade Union movement and the workers of Myanmar are committed to use all means for the rejection of the illegal SAC regime towards the achievement of system change under a sustainable, inclusive Federal Democratic System.