Irish Company Provides Staff for Myanmar

by um Sun Aug 03, 2003 17:26

but what is Myanmar?

by Ailín Sun Aug 03, 2003 18:27

Burma

by iosaf ipsiphi - always credit certain groups of cyberActivists. Sun Aug 03, 2003 20:23

Burma/Myanmar list issued in 2002 of international companies still doing business with the Military Junta.
Compiled by the International Congress of Free Trade Unions. updated June 2003.
http://www.global-unions.org/burma/default3.asp

The ICFTU represents 157 million workers in 225 affiliated organisations in 148 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org

see http://www.Corpwatch.org

by ipsiphi iosaf - (and these included Schnews and Corpwatch! credit due where credit due) Sun Aug 03, 2003 20:32

(cut and paste from ICFTU)
Introduction

A military dictatorship has ruled Burma for several decades. It is one of the worst human and trade union rights offenders in the world. There are not only forced labour and other serious human and trade union rights abuses on a large scale, there is no freedom of association and no democracy. The international trade union movement believes that it is impossible to conduct any trade or engage in other economic activity with Burma without providing direct or indirect support, mostly financial, to the military junta.
The database has been compiled by the ICFTU, based on publicly available information.

It is a database of companies which appear, from the information available, to have some form of relationship with Burma.

A company was added to the list as soon as one link was found between it and Burma or its regime during the period following 15 November 2000, the date of the ILO decision. In some cases, this link will be trade with, investment in or other business activities in Burma, for others it may be direct contact between the company and officials of the regime. It may also be that the company promotes or advertises tourism in the country.

The criterion used was that a company either operates in Burma, has business relations with the country, has been in direct contact with the officials of the regime or promotes tourism in the country.

By May 2003, over 550 companies had received a letter, signed by the General Secretary of the ICFTU, by the Chair of the Global Union Federations General Conference and by the General Secretary of TUAC (Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD), drawing attention to the decision of the ILO Governing Body and to the publicly available information indicating that the company has links with Burma. The letter requested that they severe their links.

Over 75 companies have so far replied, some of them denying their involvement, some of them admitting their presence, some of them defending their activities as beneficial to the people of Burma and some of them asking to open a dialogue about their Burma links.

A few companies let us know that they have withdrawn from Burma recently and/or are in the process of doing so, in some cases a result of the contacts we have had with the company. Those companies have been removed from the list. A number of other companies have been removed temporarily because of a process of dialogue.

This list is not exhaustive. We are ready to correct any factual errors which it may contain. As we receive information on further companies which are active in Burma we will approach them in the same way and, depending on their reaction, add them to the list.

last letter online sent to gov:
http://www.global-unions.org/burma/letterfive.asp
there have been five such in three years.

by ICFTU Sun Aug 03, 2003 20:37

Use this e-mail address: multinationals@icftu.org

What information is useful?

Please send the following:

Company name
Source of evidence that company has business links with Burma (web reference or other)
Date of the information you are sending
Evidence should refer to involvement after November 15, 2000

From one excellent organisation bolshevik boys and anarchist girls and green mothers and liberation theologist fathers may start an information based campaign.
Http://www.corpwatch.com

Does this Bray company satisfy the criteria?htt

by um Mon Aug 04, 2003 00:16

...

by Albo Tue Aug 05, 2003 10:35

The problem with companies pulling out of Burma is that all it does is create a nation of unemployment. And I can't imagine they have a great social welfare system.

Instead companies should be putting pressure on the government to improve conditions.

by passive Tue Aug 05, 2003 15:28

i'm a bit confused about the irish links. the site lists the company as being from usa. is the bray operation not just a branch of a multinational?

by Boy Bolshevik Tue Aug 05, 2003 16:11

Yes it is just a part of a multinational, I said so initially Sherlock Holmes, so because the headquarters aren't here we should do nothing?


To the guy who mentioned unemployment -- bullshit the advantage of oil is that it creates money without creating jobs, most of the people who work on oil rigs are westerners even in Saudi alot of the skilled people are westerners so somewhere like Myanmar almost everyone will be.

I'd be more concerned about Irish unemployment to be honest with you.

by Albo Wed Aug 06, 2003 12:04

"the advantage of oil is that it creates money without creating jobs"

How is that an advantage? (as opposed to creating money with jobs)

If companies leave Myanmar, then people will have no jobs, and seeing how badly workers are treated, I can't see any sympathy from the government to the unemployed: Oil money or no Oil money.

Unless I'm wrong about the social welfare system they have...