The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) comprised of elected candidates from the 2020 General Election formed the National Unity Government (NUG) together with representatives of several anti-coup ethnic groups and political parties.
The ministries were then set up under the parallel NUG government that is forced to operate from in as a clandestine administration. On May 3rd, U Kyaw Ni was appointed as deputy minister of the Ministry of Labour.
U Kyaw Ni has been engaged in labour affairs since the 2010 era. As a labour activist, he was involved in the formation of trade unions and in the protection of workers’ rights. Here is an interview with Deputy Minister U Kyaw Ni, on his plans to solve the problems being faced by staff who have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and the huge loss of jobs ever since the coup.
Q: How do you prepare for higher unemployment rates during this period?
A: The CDM program covers assistance for staff from private sectors in addition to the public sector. The next problem is that the private staff will be out of jobs due to the shutdown of factories. Some of them have joined the CDM. We need to take into account of the growing number of private sectors aligned with CDM.
Q: How long will it take to solve the problems? To what extent have you been able to prepare for it?
A: We want to overcome this crisis swiftly. It is difficult to estimate when this crisis comes to an end. We don’t know either how long does it take, or to what extent it would become worse. We are thinking about how to face the current situation, and how to respond to it. We can only really prepare for rehabilitation work at a time when our revolution reaches the halfway point.
Q: Are cash and ration assistance to the CDM staff adequate for a long-term situation? Do you have any alternative plans?
A: We have to provide assistance to CDM staff and the IDPs. This revolution has other important points. We have other necessities including the establishment of an army. In the long term, the current plans to assist the CDM are not sufficient. That’s why we are thinking about alternative ways..
Q: How does the ministry plan to solve the junta’s intense pressure for the repayment of loans which is a heavy burden to CDM staff?
A: We have already known that. I plan to report it to the ministry in order to seek advice. It is a heavy burden. It would be best if there is suspension of interest rates on staff loans, and a temporary pause on the recollection of loans. We are working on it.
Q: Do you have any messages to the CDM staff?
A: The CDM is a major blow to the military council. It is very effective. This revolution will only come to a conclusion after we have succeeded in further escalation of our CDM movement. The CDM plays a very crucial part and we only choose the path of armed struggle as a last resort. CDM staff themselves do not need to feel depressed if they cannot get involved in other sectors. I would like to say that their participation in the CDM is a very important facet of the revolution.
Q: Is there any information the factory workers should know?
A: I would like to tell our workers that they may face an even more difficult time in the future. As a factory has thousands of workers, the shutdown of a factory has a big impact on many people. Workers play an important role in the protests against the junta. They get arrested and killed. Now there are the shutdowns of factories one after another. Our labour ministry is seeking ways of providing assistance to workers. We will help them as much as we can when they become jobless. I would like to call on workers to participate in the revolution on their part. And I would like to give a message that the NUG is seeking the solution to the problems.
