The labour affairs support centre in Arakan State says it only received 43 complaints last year about violations of labour rights in the state.

The number of complaints compared with the size of the population in Arakan State is too low, said lawyer Daw Mya Thuzar, who is in charge of the northern Arakan State branch of the labour affairs support centre.

The majority of complaints related to disputes over redundancy pay, salary, working hours and leave entitlement.

“Jobs have become scarce in Arakan State, which led to labour rights violations,” Daw Mya Thuzar told DMG. “There have also been cases of human trafficking. Some families have lost contact with their relatives who have gone abroad to work.”

Out of 43 complaints the centre received last year, workers filed complaints in person in 41 of the cases, and the two others sought advice by phone. The centre was able to help settle 12 cases through mediation and legal procedures.

Arakan State residents have suffered significant economic hardships as a consequence of the February 2021 military coup and subsequent renewed fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA). Internally displaced people (IDPs) and workers have been particularly hard-hit.

A staff member of a microfinance service in Arakan State said: “Borrowers could not repay their loans due to Covid-19 and the fighting. And our company is struggling as they don’t pay back loans. So, we can’t ask for a pay increase either.”

Prominent business owner U Khin Maung Gyi said: “Our revenues have declined, so I have been forced to reduce the workforce. I paid an appropriate amount of redundancy payment to them.”

According to a report from the International Labour Organization in August of last year, Myanmar had more than 1 million fewer jobs than it did before the twin shocks of Covid-19 and the 2021 military coup.

The job figures nonetheless marked an improvement on the ILO’s last estimate in January 2022, when the labour agency found that Myanmar had lost 1.6 million jobs in 2021.