Message of the Union Minister for Labour of The National Unity Government of Myanmar on the International Migrants Day
(December 18, 2023)
- In recognition of the importance of international migration, the 55th United Nations General Assembly in 2000 named December 18 as “International Migrants Day.” According to the most recent International Organization for Migration (IOM) report, there would be 281 million migrants globally in 2020.
- In light of the ever-increasing migration, the United Nations has declared that the theme of International Migrants’ Day 2023 is to be “Promoting Safe Migration,” with the goal of collaborating among all stakeholders to ensure the safety of the entire migration process.
- I believe we are all aware that the situation for our Myanmar people who have migrated under the Military Council is far from safe.
- After the 2021 military coup, people’s lives and properties were jeopardized, harmed, and destroyed. While the economy is tightening and insecurity continues to rise, people are fleeing their places where they reside to safe areas so the number of internally displaced people is extremely high, and numerous people also travel to foreign countries to work.
- People are not safe for their lives and belongings because the military council treats people as enemies and puts them in various danger. Migrant workers who are going to work abroad are also oppressed throughout the migration process starting from the time of applying for a passport to the time they go abroad to work and return home. They have been victims of corruption, exploitation, and vulnerability.
- Despite these difficulties and challenges, Myanmar migrant workers in and out of the country and Myanmar citizens living abroad are actively participating in the spring revolution to root out authoritarianism and build a federal democratic system. We do respectfully acknowledge their contribution.
- The military council’s recent instructions about the family remittance program and the payment of taxes that migrant workers must follow are nothing more than a conspiracy to kill people with public money by unfairly abusing workers’ sweat. It is very obvious that as a migrant worker, he has the right to manage his wages as he sees fit, and no one can compel him what to do. Therefore, it is critical that overseas employment agencies, and migrant workers, stand unified and resolutely against the terrorist military’s display of power on the family remittance matter. It is highly encouraged you all not to engage in the family remittance program and the tax payment process, which will flow as the military council’s war expenditure to slaughter the people.
- In order to protect the workers from the consequences of this opposition, the National Unity Government is negotiating with the governments of the countries where the majority of Myanmar workers go to work to ensure that no additional taxes are collected. And we are negotiating with the respective governments to allow our people whose passports have expired due to avoiding double taxation, continue to stay under a special program. The governments of Korea and Japan are making the necessary cooperation, and other countries are being communicated to join in as well.
- Since the beginning of the Spring Revolution in February 2021, people have made whatever sacrifices they could and participated in the revolution. Until now, the revolutionary period has lasted nearly three years, during which many lives, blood, and sweat have been shed.
- Now that the terrorist military is weak from all sides and the decisive moment for revolution victory has arrived, migrant workers are encouraged to join a wave of victory by closing the money loophole that will keep the military alive by not complying with the instruction of family remittance and taxation at all.
- We, the Ministry of Labour of the National Unity Government are fully committed to safe and secure migration for all migrant workers, to ensuring the rights and protection they deserve, and to adoptingproper migration policies in the future Federal Democratic Union of Myanmar.
- In the near future, Myanmar migrant workers will be able to fully enjoy the benefits of migration and contribute to the reconstruction of the country through family remittances, which they have the right to freely manage.
Our Revolution Must Win!