8,000 PROTEST OVER WORKERS' RIGHTS

[lurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Media Release
Date: February 10, 1998

                                    
      8,000 PROTEST OVER WORKERS' RIGHTS AT BURMA'S LARGEST MINE  

                                    
More than 8,000 workers and their families staged a protest last
week at Burma's largest mine near Lashio in northern Shan State,
demanding better wages and conditions, according to local
sources. 
  
Workers from Nanmatu silver mine near Lashio in eastern Burma,
held the protest early in the morning on Monday 2 February.
Nanmatu silver mine is the biggest mine in Burma employing more
than 3,000 workers and is operated by the State Peace and
Development Council's (SPDC) Ministry of Mining.
  
Sources in Shan State say mine workers have become impatient with
low wages, poor conditions, lack of workers' rights, high
inflation, and their inability to afford basic goods.
  
The miners say they are forced to work from 6:30 in the morning
to 5:00 in the evening in order to fulfill government quotas.
  
The sources say that the miners are also angry because while they
and their families face many hardships, army security personnel
who guard the mine are fully provided for by the SPDC. 
  
During the protest the miners made eleven demands:
1. that rice is sold at same price given to civil servants
2. that enough rice is sold, instead of being rationed out 
3. that the authorities increase underground wages
4. that the authorities pay for sick leave and work-related       
   injuries
5. that the Medical Pension Inspection Board is abolished
6. that workers get a substitute holiday if they have to work on  
   Sunday
7. that salaries are raised for those in charge of underground    
   units
8. that the authorities pay 150 kyat per ton, instead of the      
   current 'piece-work' system 
9. that the authorities repair the workers' accommodation
10. that workers are allowed to meet with the Mining Minister     
    when he visits
11. that workers are allowed to meet with the township initiative 
    delegation.
  
Some 21 local workers met for four hours with mining officials
and the commander of Light Infantry Battalion No. 324 to settle
the dispute. According to local sources, the Mining Ministry and
the  Northeast Military Command Headquarters agreed to solve the
rice problem in order to prevent further protests. The workers
say the mining authorities have moved bars of pure silver from
the mine office to a safer place.
  

All Burma Students' Democratic Front
  
For further information please call 01 654 4984.