The ITUC has welcomed the imminent return to Burma of the leader of the country’s trade union movement, Maung Maung, following a decision by the government to remove some 2,000 people from a black-list of over 6,000 banned from entering the country.
Maung Maung is General Secretary of the ITUC-affiliated Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB).
“We are delighted that after decades of exile, Maung Maung will be able to return to the country to lead the FTUB at this crucial stage in Burma’s history.
The international trade union movement is supporting the FTUB in organising Burmese workers, and having Maung Maung inside the country with his union colleagues will help the union movement to grow and play its role to the fullest,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.
The ITUC sees the removal of 2,000 names from the blacklist as paving the way for all 6,165 listed democracy supporters to be allowed back into the country. The ITUC will establish an office in Burma, and together with ITUC affiliates and Global Union Federations, support the work of the FTUB.
“I look forward to the day very soon when I will be able to meet with Maung Maung inside his own country, and to talk directly with him Burmese workers about how to tackle the enormous challenges facing working men and women, and the country as a whole”, said Burrow.
