In this episode, we present a two-part conversation on labour in post-coup Myanmar. More than two years after the coup, how has the labour movement fared? We spoke with labour activists Ma San and Ko Maung about organising garment workers and delivery riders, how activists navigate opportunities and constraints after the coup, and what workers can do to build sustainable and democratic organisation. In addition, we asked Stephen Campbell, a longtime researcher of labour in Myanmar at Nanyang Technological University, to sketch out political questions that are contentious within the labour movement. We end with a chat between Kiang and Kevin about a recent meeting on delivery riders in Bangkok, Thailand.

Suggested Reading:

Ko Maung: "Horizons of Labor Organizing in Post-Coup Myanmar: Grab Riders on Strike", https://labourreview.org/grab-in-myanmar/

Stephen Campbell:"In Post-Coup Myanmar, Workers Assert Workplace Democracy amid Suspension of Electoral Rule", https://labourreview.org/in-post-coup-myanmar-workers-assert-workplace-democracy-amid-suspension-of-electoral-rule/

Stephen Campbell: Along the Integral Margin: Uneven Development in a Myanmar Squatter Settlement (Cornell 2022), https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501764882/along-the-integral-margin/

Ma Cheria: "Striking Against All Odds", https://labourreview.org/strike-in-myanmar/

Ma Cheria: "“Fight on Our Own and Build Solidarity”: A Conversation with Ma Tin Tin Wai of Federation of General Workers in Myanmar", https://labourreview.org/fight-on-our-own/