Amazon: Stop free-riding on worker safety, sign the Accord today!

Since its agreement following the horrifying death of over 1,100 garment workers’ lives in the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh on 24 April 2013, the International Accord has been a beacon of progress, uniting unions, brands and suppliers behind the common mission of ensuring workplace safety.

30 out of 33 of Amazon’s suppliers, textile and garment factories in Bangladesh and Pakistan, are covered by the Accord's stringent safety standards. Yet, Amazon refuses to commit to financially support the implementation of these standards, instead freeloading off the Accord's protections while other brands shoulder the responsibility for workers’ safety.

Amazon's free-riding must cease. It's time to sign the Accord now!

The Accord has made a huge difference: over 56,000 independent safety inspections have been conducted, 140,000 safety issues have been resolved, and 2 million workers have been trained in health and safety protocols. The Accord has become a lifeline for factory workers. Over 200 brands have committed, securing safer futures for millions in Bangladesh, with Pakistan now benefiting from its life-saving initiatives.

As the world's largest online retailer, Amazon’s failure to sign the Accord is inexcusable.

Amazon, your signature can save lives. Sign the Accord now.

Rana Plaza anniversary: MEPs must support due diligence today!

To deliver this due diligence effectively, there is growing interest in binding agreements, out of increasing recognition that voluntary social auditing is a failed mechanism, both in terms of protecting workers’ rights and reducing risk to multinational buyer brands and their investors.

Judith Kirton-Darling, general secretary of industriAll European Trade Union says:

"Today, MEPs have a chance to make a real positive change to workers’ lives, including those in the international textiles sector, which unfortunately continues to be infamous for the abuse of workers’ rights. All workers deserve to work in safe environments with decent conditions and we must do all that we can to prevent another disaster like Rana Plaza. We need strong EU rules on due diligence to hold companies accountable for their supply chains wherever they are.’’

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive will require EU and non-EU companies with a minimum turnover of 450 million Euros in the EU to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence across their value chains.

Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary, said:

"The CSDDD will make essential advancements in ensuring that a company can no longer unilaterally decide its approach to human rights due diligence. Instead, it will be obligatory to meaningfully involve trade unions through the due diligence process. As the directive comes into force, these provisions will ensure that the new requirements are a substantive step forward from the failed approaches of corporate social responsibility."

Set up in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse by global unions, the legally binding International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry which to date has been signed by over 200 of the world’s biggest brands and fashion retailers. It has resulted in more than 56,000 independent inspections in supplier factories, over 140,000 safety issues have been fixed and 2 million workers have received health and safety training. The Accord is now working to save lives in Pakistan.

Says IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Atle Høie:

“While we are proud of the work of the Accord we call on more international action to hold textile brands to account. If adopted, the EU directive will change the lives of millions of workers for the better. The irony that the final vote falls on the same day as the Rana Plaza anniversary is not lost and textile workers in Bangladesh call on the European Parliament today to support the directive and hold international textile brands to account.’’

Christy Hoffman, UNI Global Union General Secretary, said:

“Just as UNI and IndustriALL made history when we negotiated the Accord 11 years ago, the MEPs voting today have a chance to change the landscape of supply chain responsibility across the world. The Accord shows the difference unions and companies can make when we make binding rules with a sectoral impact. The CSDDD moves supply chain accountability to a new level and is a huge step towards ensuring that ‘Rana Plaza- Never Again’ is more than a slogan.”

Respect ILO standards in EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement

In a letter to the EU leaders, including the president of the European Council Charles Michel and the president of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen dated 15 April, IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie and industriALL Europe general secretary Judith Kirton-Darling highlighted flagrant violation of workers' rights in Thailand, resulting in low unionization rate and weak collective bargaining power of Thai trade unions.

They explained that existing Thai labour laws impose various restrictions on freedom of association and right to collective bargaining. Trade unions were severely weakened as a result of a lack of protection from the state.

“It is imperative that the EU commit to include social justice and labour rights issues, especially a pledge from the government to ratify ILO Conventions 87 and 98, which should lead to a reform of existing labour laws and practices and remove those obstacles that undermine the rights to organise and bargain collectively.”

Høie said.

The EU is Thailand’s fourth largest trading partner after China, the United States and Japan. In 2022, Thailand exported US$22.8 billion worth of products to the EU. The exported goods include automotive, computer, electric circuits and jewellery products.

“The EU must ensure that the consequent growth in trade and investment between the EU and its trading partners does lead to improved environmental, social justice, human and labour rights outcomes.”

Kirton-Darling added.

Since the EU-Thailand FTA negotiation resumed in September 2023, trade unions in Thailand were in the dark of the negotiations. IndustriALL affiliate Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT) is urging the negotiating partners to respect international labour standards in the negotiation meetings.

Referring to the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement, CILT president Prasit Prasopsuk said:

“Thai government should emulate the South Korea to ratify the ILO Convention 87 and 98 after the signing of the EU-Korea FTA.”

In 2023, IndustriALL Thailand affiliates launched the campaign for ratification of Convention 87 and 98 as a step to address anti-union discrimination in the country.

After a few rounds of engagement with the current administration, the ministry of labour set up a tripartite committee and two working groups to conduct a feasibility study on ratification of the two conventions.

Historic union win at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant

Shawn Fain, president of UAW, expressed his enthusiasm and support for the workers at the Chattanooga plant. Meeting with the workers on the day of the vote, Fain emphasized the broader implications of their victory for labour across the nation.

"I had a great time today meeting with Volkswagen workers as they journey on the path to victory of winning justice on the job! Workers in America are fed up with being left behind, and unions are the path to dignity on and off the job! Stand up, UAW VW!"

said Fain.

And following two unsuccessful votes since 2014, Volkswagen workers made history and voted yes to join UAW by 73 per cent.

"Congratulations to the UAW workers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, from the whole IndustriALL family of 50 million workers. Today you made history by becoming one of the very few unionized auto plant in the southern states. You are a long-awaited and extremely welcome addition to the family. With today's resounding victory, you have given hope and inspiration to millions all over the world,"

said Atle Høie IndustriALL general secretary.

US President Joe Biden publicly commended the workers at Volkswagen Chattanooga for their courage and determination. In his statement, he emphasized that the right to organize is a fundamental American value and critical to balancing the power between workers and employers, therefore fostering a fair economy.

"Every worker in every state must have a free and fair choice to join a union,"

The union win came after a complex and prolonged battle with company management, which failed to show the required neutrality for a very long time. The Chattanooga plant, employing thousands, has been at the centre of a tough fight for workers’ rights, bringing national attention to the struggles and potential of unionizing in the South.

As Mercedes workers in Alabama prepare for their own union election in May, and in the lead up to the VW vote, governors from neighbouring states, including Alabama, voiced strong opposition in a public statement, with unfounded arguments that unions could jeopardize job creation and economic growth in the region.

However, the persistent efforts of the UAW and its members promise to reshape trade unionism across the region. The success at Chattanooga is expected to have broader effects, potentially influencing labour policies and practices across the automotive industry and beyond. It highlights the increasing recognition of the importance of unions in ensuring fair treatment and equity at the workplace.

International solidarity was an important part in the campaign, with IndustriALL affiliate IG Metall and the VW Global Group Works Council playing key roles. They closely monitored the unionization process and quickly stepped in when they saw any anti-union actions by VW management. Their vigilance and fast action helped ensure a fair setting for the workers to vote on forming a union.

“This teamwork shows how strong global solidarity is essential for advancing labour rights and how international allies can help local efforts push back against corporate challenges. This victory is not just a win for the workers at VW but hope for millions of workers across the country, proving that persistence and solidarity can pave the way for significant improvement in workers' rights and justice on the job, not least for our brothers and sisters at the MB plant in Alabama who get to have their say on union membership next month,”

says Georg Leutert, IndustriALL automotive director.

Shipping companies’ lifeline to Myanmar junta demonstrates disdain for human rights

Global shipping giants are putting commercial interests above human rights concerns by continuing to ship from Myanmar, say trade unionists from Myanmar and global union federations IndustriALL Global Union and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

The companies, Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A (MSC) and CMA CGM – all of which have annual revenues in the tens of billions in USD – are playing a key role in sustaining the ruling military junta in Myanmar.

“The military junta of Myanmar is surviving from international trade – done with violations of workers’ rights, human rights, bombings of its own populations,”

said Maung Maung, General Secretary of the Confederation of Trade Unions, Myanmar (CTUM), an affiliate of the International Trade Union Confederation.

In his message to the shipping companies, Maung Maung said:

“All the containers your ships carry are owned by the cronies of the military, as they are the only people who can work in Myanmar now. All the fuel you load on your ships in Myanmar are sold by those who are on the UK or US sanctions lists.
“Your ships and yourselves are not only supporting a military junta under sanctions by the UK and US, but also will soon be identified as those violating these sanctions and will face enforcement actions through either the UK Sanctions office or the US Treasury enforcement regulations.”

International trade is crucial to the survival of the ruling military junta in Myanmar, enabling it to receive the foreign exchange it needs to buy weapons, ammunition and fuel – and as it loses access to land borders, maritime trade is becoming increasingly vital.

At Maersk’s March AGM in Copenhagen, the ITF statement delivered to the company’s shareholders and executives called on it not to throw a lifeline to the military regime. Days later, the European Council approved the European Union’s long-awaited human rights due diligence Directive, the ‘Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence’ Directive (CSDDD).

Maersk runs the biggest container operation serving Myanmar, which it expanded in 2021 after the military coup – as other companies considered exiting the country – by launching three new container vessels. MSC established an office in Yangon in 2016 which currently has 15 staff working to “support… local clients”. Similarly, CMA CGM (Myanmar) Ltd was established in 2014 with an office in Yangon, and it operates “a weekly feeder service” with export/import cargo handled via Malaysia.

Major exports from Myanmar include garments, gems, wood and other commodities, with trade unions in Myanmar calling for disinvestment from the country to starve the regime of the resources it needs to maintain its oppression.

ITF research shows that this year Maersk has carried shipments originating from Myanmar for H&M, Adidas and LL Bean. ITF research also shows that multiple MSC and CMA-CGM ships have sailed in and out of ports in Myanmar in 2024, including Yangon and Thilawa.

Independent Federation of Myanmar Seafarers (IFOMS) General Secretary, Aung Kyaw Lin, currently living in exile in the USA, said:

“These shipping companies should not be making huge profits from our people's misery – our revolution against the junta is not a business opportunity.
“We need to get these thugs out of power and we need democracy.”

Maersk claimed at its March AGM that it is “following the situation in the country very closely”, that “global trade can be a powerful enabler for development when carried out in a sustainable and responsible way” and that it has “conducted heightened human rights due diligence to assess human rights risks and how Maersk's management systems are preventing or mitigating such risk”.

IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie said:

“So-called ‘heightened human rights due diligence’ is a common choice of language from companies that choose to ignore findings by the ILO on freedom of association and forced labour violations, and an assessment by the Ethical Trading Initiative that due diligence is not possible in Myanmar. The military junta has banned most trade unions, killed dozens of union activists, and arrested many others.
“Maersk has conducted its own risk assessment – which it has not made public – which claims that there is no risk to the seafarers, office employees and warehouse workers that it employs. But Maersk’s responsibility is wider than this: by maintaining a vital trade link, Maersk provides a lifeline for the regime.”

Maersk’s position is at odds with EU supply chain initiatives including the soon to be approved EU CSDDD and the new EU Forced Labour Regulation. The International Labour Organization found violations of the Forced Labour Convention and trade unions report instances of forced labour in factories, which suggest that Maersk and other shipping companies may be importing products made with forced labour.

ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton said:

“It’s crystal clear that Myanmar’s ruling military junta depends on foreign exchange in order to survive – in order to sustain the abuses suffered daily by trade unionists and the people of Myanmar.
“It’s disappointing that these shipping companies continue to trade with Myanmar, and surprising that Maersk in particular claims that it can somehow continue to operate responsibly there.
“We would welcome the opportunity to assist the companies to reconsider trading with Myanmar’s military junta, to be on the right side of history and uphold their image as responsible, socially aware companies.”

Addressing workers' rights amid escalating challenges in Asia Pacific

The women’s committee meeting, which met before the regional executive committee, brought to light significant challenges faced by women workers. These includ sexual harassment in the mining sector, a pronounced gender pay gap in political and economic spheres, the necessity for the inclusion of LGBTQI+ workers in unions, and the impact of artificial intelligence on women workers.

Reports highlighted the dire situation faced by young workers in Myanmar, who are fleeing the country to escape the military junta’s forced conscription law. In Indonesia, the government's implementation of the Omnibus Law has significantly weakened workers’ rights.

IndustriALL South Asian affiliates are urging governments to repeal regressive labour law reforms and enhance measures to prevent mining fatalities and industrial accidents, focusing on Pakistan and India. Affiliates also demand an immediate stop to violence against unionists and union activities, especially in Bangladesh.

Amid strong inflation pressures, IndustriALL affiliates in the Philippines and Malaysia are calling for a living wage. In the Philippines, unions are backing the Wage Recovery Act, which proposes a daily wage increase of PHP150 (US$2.7) for private sector workers. Malaysian unions are pushing for a mandatory progressive wage policy to address stagnant real wages.

IndustriALL vice president and Asia Pacific co-chair, Akihiro Kaneko, said:

“This is a crucial year for all of us, election outcomes in the region could significantly influence worker conditions. It’s very important that unions in the region stand united to fight anti-worker policies of governments for the protection of our members’ rights.”

Union leaders reported from their respective countries, revealing severe employment conditions. For instance, in India, 40 per cent of manufacturing workers are contract workers and most do not benefit from paid leave and social security. The introduction of the Code on Occupational Health, Safety, and Working Conditions 2021 in India has allowed for indefinite fixed-term contracts, which has exacerbated job insecurity.

In Indonesia, affiliates have successfully negotiated a zero-tolerance policy on gender-based violence and harassment across 82 companies.

Khaing Zar from Myanmar detailed the ongoing military repression in the country, severely impacting young workers' livelihoods. Similarly, Bangladesh witnessed brutal suppression of minimum wage protests last year, resulting in casualties and unjust charges against trade unionists.

Young trade unionists urged for more inclusive union processes. IndustriALL’s secretariat reported on regional activities and major trade union actions.

“We need to prepare our organization for future challenges. It’s crucial that we effectively strategize to fight for workers’ rights and trade union rights in the face of the current perilous situation. The Asia Pacific is a very important region and therefore the inputs from leaders in the region are extremely valuable,”

said IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan.

The Asia Pacific women’s committee, meeting on 15 April, engaged in a comprehensive dialogue on IndustriALL’s policy on gender-based violence and harassment, sexism, and misogyny. Discussions included the implementation of this policy, plans for participatory gender audits, and training initiatives for affiliates.

Significant advancements were shared during the meeting; for example, the Philippines ratified the ILO Convention 190 after a protracted union campaign. In Japan, workshops are being organized to address conscious and unconscious gender biases, while leaders from Australia highlighted the Fair Work Act's considerations for gender equality. South Asian women leaders underlined the importance of addressing gender-based violence and harassment within the region.

Lesotho union takes Adient Automotive to labour tribunal for union busting

Adient Automotive supplies car seats to BMW, Ford, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, and Volkswagen factories in South Africa. Of the 1,000 workers employed at Adient Automotive in Maseru, 800 are members of IndustriALL affiliate IDUL.

According to IDUL, the dispute began when Adient Automotive started ignoring the recognition agreement that it signed with the union in 2015. According to the law, a union must organize more than 50 per cent of the workers at a factory for it to sign a recognition agreement with the employer. The agreement gives the union the right to negotiate terms and conditions of employment on behalf of its members and to engage in collective bargaining with the employer.

However, the union says Adient Automotive flouted labour laws and breached the contract when it stopped deducting the union dues and remitting them to the union as per labour laws. Further, the union argues that the company’s actions are meant to frustrate workers. To stop the unfair labour practices from continuing, IDUL has raised objections and taken Adient Automotive to the DDRP.

May Rathakane, IDUL general secretary, says:

“We raised our concerns in meetings with the local management who told us that the decision to ignore the agreement was made in the US where the senior management is based. We are challenging the decision because it does not comply with Lesotho’s labour laws.”

Says Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa:

“Multinational companies must respect national labour laws and international labour standards, especially on freedom of association. Trade union rights to organize and collective bargaining must be upheld, and we expect Adient Automotive to respect the rights of the workers of Lesotho and to stop the union bashing and other anti-union activities.”

Adient Automotive, is a subsidiary of Adient Engineering, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company employs over 70,000 workers at manufacturing plants in 30 countries. Adient Engineering is a spin-off from its parent company, Johnson Controls, which issued shares to create the new company in 2016 and manufactures frames, seat mechanisms, foam, head restraints, arm rests, trim covers, and other vehicle seat accessories.

Mental health – an important part of health and safety

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to contribute to their community.

Risks to mental health in the workplace, also called psychosocial risks, include under-use of skills or being under-skilled for work, excessive workloads or work pace, understaffing, long, unsocial, or inflexible hours, unsafe or poor physical working conditions and violence, harassment, or bullying.

Psychosocial risks are becoming more and more prevalent at work including for white-collar workers with the development of new technologies and the related accelerated rhythm of work. 88 per cent of EU workers have experienced stress problems at work. According to Eurocadres, 60 per cent of lost working days can be attributed to work related stress and psychosocial risks.

Says Armelle Seby, director for white-collar workers:

“Mental health is still often misunderstood, under-resourced and deprioritized when compared with physical health. Legislations over psychosocial risks and duties of employers are often not sufficient. Furthermore individuals with mental health conditions are often stigmatized, discriminated against and excluded. The widespread stigma creates a barrier. Some employers may be reluctant to hire people with mental health conditions and some workers may hesitate to disclose or seek help because they fear adverse career repercussions.”

Even though protecting workers mental health at work is part of employers’ duty of care, trade unions can play an important role in reducing mental health issues in the workplace. It is important for unions to understand these risks and become familiar with how to address them. Unions can work with employers to assess the risks, reorganize the work environment in order to reduce psychosocial risks and can advocate for training managers on mental disorders at the workplaces.

The WHO and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have developed guidelines that trade unions can use, these include: planned actions that directly target working conditions to prevent deterioration in mental or physical health and quality of life and assessing and modifying, mitigating or removing psychosocial risks to mental health.

ILO’s fundamental Conventions: Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention aim to protect both physical and mental health of workers and to prevent occupational accidents and diseases. Together, these Conventions allow an establishment of a systems approach to the management of OSH, defining the key responsibilities, duties and rights in the field, and highlighting the complementary roles of governments, employers and workers in creating safe and healthy working environments.

Trade unions, such as Unite the Union in UK, or USW in Canada, have developed their own guidelines to support their shop stewards, health and safety reps, and their members to tackle mental health issues and discrimination at work, and to campaign and negotiate for good mental health.

Unions in Singapore are participating in a tripartite advisory on mental well-being at workplaces which was established in response to growing mental health issues in the workplace. The advisory, made up of the ministry of manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), sets out practical guidance on measures that employers can adopt to support their employees’ mental well-being, and provides resources that employers, employees and self-employed persons can tap into.

The measures include conducting surveys to understand the general state of well-being and work stressors, appointing workplace mental well-being champions to encourage senior management to implement policies and support, creating activities, programmes and resources to enhance employees’ mental health, establishing a system to refer people in distress to professionals, reviewing HR and workplace policies centred around supporting employee mental health, establishing return to work policies to support employees recovering from mental health conditions.

“In Singapore and in my union, we classify mental health as a workplace safety and health issue. We conduct workshops with workers and union representatives, we provide them with online and offline resources which assists workers in how to look out for their mental health. In our mental wellness workshops we educate workers on how to cope with stress which includes exercise and fitness classes to keep physically fit and destress,”

says Patrick Tay Teck Guan from National Trades Union Congress and co-chair for white collar workers sector at IndustriALL.

Addressing how working from home can affect mental health, French union CFE-CGC métallurgie is measuring the workload to identify any overload which has the potential of damanaging the employees’ health mentally and physically. They then need to know how to regulate it and prevent any future overload.

Corinne Schewin, from CFE-CGC métallurgie and white-collar sector co-chair, says:

“Union representatives go to different departments to speak to workers to determine their mental well-being. We check on how much sleep people get, we look at the work environments and then we have to speak to the HR department and inform them that managers need help. We also have clauses in company collective agreements protecting workers’ mental health, these look at the quality of work and the conditions of work.”

Armelle Seby, says:

“When it comes to mental health in the workplace, it is important for trade unions to participate in risk management, prioritize actions, develop action plans and monitor and evaluate these plans. Trade unions should also improve understanding about mental health and well-being at work, shift attitudes around mental health conditions to reduce stigma, encourage help-seeking behaviours, implement mechanisms to fight harassment at work and protect victims and support people with mental health conditions.”

Photo: Shutterstock

Big win for contract workers in Pakistan

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition filed by IFFCO management challenging earlier orders of lower courts which were in favour of contract workers and their union.

In 2014, around 90 contract workers of IFFCO Pakistan filed a petition in the National Industrial Relation Commission (NIRC) in Karachi against unfair labour practices and violation of workers’ right to freedom of association. Company management did not treat contract workers as their employees and did not allow them to join the existing union or form their own.

While the final judgement of NIRC came out in 2020, the commission granted an interim relief to petitioners by directing the company to let workers continue work in the factory till the court reaches a final decision. Meanwhile, in 2017, IFFCO contract workers filed for union registration and were granted the registration the same year. Consequently, the company management approached the Sindh High Court challenging the lower court’s decision to grant registration to the union. Management also one by one illegally terminated the union members against which workers filed another complaint in NIRC.

In 2020, NIRC Karachi ruled that ‘these workers were being deprived from statutory benefits of employments as available to the other employees who become members of the CBA union, and that they are neither permitted to join the CBA union nor are they provided facilities/ benefits at par with the CBA members, although the nature of job/duties are same, and they are being treated unfairly’. It further stated that the company’s decision to terminate workers was a violation of the court’s interim order. Court directed the company to pay PKR30,000 as penalty to each worker as well as to reinstate the workers along with payment of back wages.

After a long drawn legal battle that lasted a decade, during which the lower courts that were approached by the company management upheld the ruling of the NIRC Karachi, the Supreme Court of Pakistan also ruled in favour of the workers by dismissing around 55 appeals made by the management. The Supreme court order is yet to be implemented.

IFFCO contract workers’ union is affiliated to IndustriALL through Pakistan Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mines & General Workers’ Union (PCEM).

Imran Ali, PCEM general secretary, says:

“This is a big win for IFFCO contract workers although it’s very unfortunate that legal procedures in our country are such that precarious workers have to wait ten long years for justice to finally prevail. We call on IFFCO management to immediately implement the court order.”

Ashutosh Bhattacharya, IndustriALL’s south Asia regional secretary, says:

“We congratulate IFFCO workers and our affiliate PCEM for putting up a strong fight. IndustriALL salutes the struggle of precarious workers and stands in solidarity with them.”

Khaing Zar Aung wins Arthur Svensson international prize for trade union rights

Khaing Zar began her journey in the labour movement as a garment worker at the age of 16. Her advocacy work took a more defined shape when she migrated to Thailand as a worker and started training fellow migrant workers about their rights. With Myanmar's initial steps towards democracy, she returned home and soon rose to lead the Industrial Workers' Federation of Myanmar (IWFM). Her leadership extended to playing a significant role in the Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM), which was legalized only after 2012.

Under her stewardship, the IWFM made significant strides in organizing labour, particularly empowering young women in the burgeoning textile industry, which saw a boom with the inflow of international brands seeking affordable labour.

Myanmar’s military coup in 2021, forced Khaing Zar Aung to seek refuge in Germany. Despite being in exile, she has continued to fight for the cause of Myanmar’s workers on the global stage. She has urged international brands to cut ties with Myanmar and lobbied for the European Union to suspend trade preferences until the junta concedes power.

The military regime has persistently oppressed opposition, resulting in over 4,600 deaths and the detention of 25-30,000 individuals, many of whom are trade unionists actively resisting the junta. In this turmoil, the trade union movement has been pivotal in coordinating large-scale protests and forming the Myanmar Labour Alliance, which supports the Civil Disobedience Movement aimed at reinstating the democratic government.

Today, an alliance of various ethnic groups, youth, students, and political entities alongside trade unions, under the leadership of figures like Khaing Zar Aung, is fighting not just for a return to pre-coup conditions but for the establishment of a genuine federal democracy.

Myanmar’s situation continues to deteriorate due to the military junta's recent enforcement of a conscription law. This law, is a desperate attempt to address manpower shortages during conflict and resistance, intensifying public fear and instability.

Being forced into service under a regime that they oppose, many Myanmar citizens are fleeing or joining opposition forces, contributing to domestic chaos and regional instability. This context underscores the critical importance of Khaing Zar’s advocacy and the international community's role in supporting Myanmar’s fight for democracy and labour rights.

In an IndustriALL youth meeting in March 2024 Khaing Zar expressed that

“young workers oppose the conscription because it is imposed by the Junta without the consent of the people and workers and it compels people to kill each other. The People Military Service Law should be used for national defence against external threats, not for the purpose of internal conflict.”

Atle Høie, general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, expressed his admiration and support for Khaing Zar Aung, stating,

“She has been awarded this year's Arthur Svensson Prize for her incredible work for trade union rights in Myanmar and her fight for a return to democracy to the country. May this prize shed more light on the catastrophic situation for workers in Myanmar under the military junta and contribute to its downfall.”

The Arthur Svensson Prize not only recognizes Khaing Zar Aung’s sacrifices and leadership but also highlights the ongoing struggle for democracy and fundamental labour rights in Myanmar.

The prize ceremony is scheduled to take place in Oslo on June 12th, where the global trade union community will celebrate Khaing Zar Aung.