As International Labour Day approaches, the Industrial Workers’ Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) is calling on international brands and suppliers in the garment industry to protect the rights of trade unionists and ensure that workers will not be dismissed during the ongoing protests against the military junta.

The former chair of state-owned telecom giant ZTE’s corporate trade union, He Xuemei, has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for embezzlement and fraudulent fundraising.

Veteran labour leader Lee Cheuk Yan was sentenced today to 12 months in jail for organising and taking part in an unauthorised assembly on 18 August 2019. Eight other prominent pro-democracy figures were also sentenced today during a high-profile district court hearing for their roles in that protest. In addition, Lee was given a six-month sentence after pleading guilty to participating in a separate protest on 31 August 2019. In total, Lee will serve 14 months in jail.

A total of 21 workers remain trapped underground five days after a sudden flood inundated a coal mine in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Truck driver Jin Deqiang took his own life on 5 April after he was fined 2,000 yuan for driving while his satellite positioning system was offline. Jin was stopped at a checkpoint in Tangshan, Hebei. After officials insisted he pay a fine, Jin drank a bottle of pesticide.