The ILO, Mawk Kon Local Development Organization, and the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar have established a new partnership to operate Migrant Worker Resource Centres (MRC) in Tachileik and Yangon, Myanmar. Starting on 15 August, the Centres will provide a wide range of services for migrant workers, assisting them to better understand their rights and providing a channel for complaints and legal assistance. The MRCs will also work to provide support for ethnic women’s organizations to deliver peer support and empower women migrant workers. In addition, the new agreement will include emergency assistance to returning migrants from Thailand in Kayin and Shan States.
This financial support responds to the severe toll that the military coup has taken on trade unions and CSOs providing services to migrants and other workers in Myanmar. The targeted persecution of these groups has substantially impacted their ability to operate. The ILO is working to increase the flexibility and responsiveness of their support to counter this existential threat to civic space and worker organizing in Myanmar.
