Workers are fired for greeting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

On June 13, 2012, Ko Bo Bo Kyaw and his wife came to PVA and reported that they both were fired by Ma Soe’s sewing factory, where they worked for one year and two months, without any compensation. According to them, while they were working and listening to Burmese radio as usual, they had learnt that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would pay visit to Mae Sot and other refugee’s camp on June 4, 2012. Therefore, the couple and other workers decided to go and greet her by taking day off on that day. And, they took half day off to greet her and came back at 3 pm. As a result, most of the workers showed up to work late on that day. The employer assumed that listening to the radio had caused them to take the day off and come back late. Therefore, the boss ordered all the workers not to listen to the radio while working. However, the couple and some others refused to obey it and kept listening to the radio while working. Thus, the couple along with Ko Bo Bo Kyaw and his wife was fired finally. PVA ordered the employer named Ma Soe to come to the office and negotiated. It also transferred the case to the Sawadeekan office so that all of these workers could claim for their grievances in this regard. Meantime, it had provided the temporary foods and shelters for Ko Bo Bo Kyaw and his wife, who had nowhere to go, and helped looking for another job for them.

July 23, 2012