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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000083 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP, IO AND DRL 
PACOM FOR FPA 
US MISSION GENEVA FOR LABOR ATTACHE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2020 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: STRIKES HALT WORK AT SEVERAL RANGOON 
FACTORIES 
 
Classified By: Economic Officer Marc Porter for reasons 1.4 (b and d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C)  Workers at three or four Rangoon factories, all 
wholly or partially foreign owned, went on strike February 
8-9.  The number of participants is estimated to be as high 
as 3,000.  By all available accounts, worker demands focus on 
increased pay and benefits.  Some reports indicate the GOB 
responded with a violent crackdown; others claim the Labor 
Minister traveled from Nay Pyi Taw to hear worker grievances. 
 We cannot confirm either story at this time.  End summary. 
 
Workers Walk Out...But From Which Factories? 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C)  Garment industry contacts told us February 10 that 
workers at three factories in Rangoon's Hlaingthaya 
Industrial Zone walked off the job on February 8 and 9.  The 
affected factories included: the Opal 2 garment factory 
(Korean owned); the Tai Yi shoe factory (a Taiwanese/Burmese 
joint venture); and the Sunny shoe factory (Korean owned). 
It remains unclear exactly how many workers participated.  U 
Kyaw Win, Secretary of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers 
Association, estimated Tai Yi employs between 400-500 
workers.  U Zaw Min Oo, owner of a garment factory in the 
same industrial zone, estimated that Opal 2, together with a 
companion factory run by the same owners, employs 1,500 
workers. 
 
¶3. (C)  A purported Burmese police report posted on an exile 
group website described the strike at the Tai Yi shoe factory 
which began at 7:30 AM on February 8 as a bid by workers to 
persuade owners to increase overtime wages, provide annual 
bonuses, close the factory or pay double wages on holidays, 
allot sufficient rest time, and change the format/contents of 
pay slips.  According to the police report, 1,766 workers at 
the factory participated in the strike, of whom 1,689 are 
female.  (Note: This workforce estimate is quite different 
from the one given by Kyaw Win of the Myanmar Garment 
Manufacturers.)  The Labor Department DG, local police 
commander, and military officials arrived just before midday 
and negotiated a peaceful end to the strike with 409 workers 
returning to work and the rest heading home, said the report. 
 The report did not include any terms of the negotiations. 
This appears to have been the earliest strike and may have 
influenced the actions of workers at nearby factories. 
 
¶4. (C)  An Embassy small grants recipient with project 
activities near the industrial zone reported a strike began 
at the Opal 2 factory during the early evening shift on 
February 8.  Workers there began the strike in a bid for 
higher wages, recently granted by some other factory owners, 
according to our contact.  He added that while estimates 
varied, it appears that most of Opal 2's workforce 
participated.   According to this source, police vehicles 
arrived sometime late on February 8 and removed an unknown 
number of protestors from the factory compound. 
 
¶5. (C)  A separate Embassy contact who lives near the area 
reported a strike at a fourth factory that manufactures 
instant noodles.  He told us, in total, 2,800 workers from 
factories in the industrial zone walked off the job and 
presented their managements with similar demands: better pay, 
free transportation, annual promotions, more lenient 
supervisors, and health benefits.  He said a combination of 
police, firefighters, and soldiers dispersed the protesters 
with fire hoses and batons.  It is not clear how the contact 
had access to witness the events or otherwise obtain the 
information. 
 
¶6. (C)  An employee of the Japanese Embassy visited the 
industrial zone February 10 and observed "40-50 truckloads" 
of riot police in the area.  He reported that the police had 
 
RANGOON 00000083  002 OF 002 
 
 
blocked several roads within the zone with coils of barbed 
wire. 
 
Labor Minister May Have Responded 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C)  U Kyaw Win told us Labor Minister Aung Kyi travelled 
from Nay Pyi Taw to Rangoon to oversee GOB handling of the 
situation.  A second Embassy contact who works in the area 
provided a similar account and added that Aung Kyi actually 
negotiated with some of the workers. 
 
¶8. (C)  International Labor Organization Liaison Officer 
Steve Marshall says his sources indicated Ministry of Labor 
and Ministry of Home Affairs officials were actively involved 
and advocating on the workers' behalf in discussions with 
factory owners.  Marshall was not aware of direct 
participation by Labor Minister Aung Kyi.  Although Marshall 
verified that police and fire personnel were called in to 
keep things under control, he could not confirm reports that 
harsh law enforcement tactics were used to break up the 
strikes. 
 
Not the First Time 
------------------ 
 
¶9. (C)  Strikes occurred at factories in the same industrial 
zone in December 2009.  Workers at a garment factory, a shoe 
factory, and a seafood cold storage operation went on strike 
for higher pay.  The strike was quickly resolved.  Though 
contacts in the industrial zone profess not to know the 
details, most are convinced the workers achieved some 
positive results, such as raises or transportation benefits, 
which they believe affected the calculations of workers in 
neighboring factories.  Garment industry contacts report 
growing fear and suspicion of workers by management in the 
sector and told us that several factory owners have declared 
they will shut down if faced with labor action. 
 
DINGER