IndustriALL, representing 50 million workers across manufacturing, energy, and mining sectors in 140 countries, has renewed its call on brands including Bestseller, Next, and Hunkemöller to halt operations in Myanmar and engage in responsible exit talks, citing the erosion of labour and human rights under military rule.

In a statement issued on September 4, the global union highlighted that Myanmar’s textile and garment industry is a major source of foreign exchange for the military regime, funding weapons, ammunition, and fuel.

Workers producing garments and footwear in the country operate under martial law in industrial zones, facing widespread rights violations, it said.

A 2023 ILO Commission of Inquiry found widespread violations of freedom of association and forced labour Conventions. In July, there were new reports of union leaders and labour activists arrested on unknown charges.

According to the statement, despite these concerns brands like UK high street favourite Next and Dutch lingerie brand Hunkemöller have indicated an intention to remain in Myanmar, saying they are able to perform ‘enhanced due diligence’ to mitigate the risk of human rights violations in the supply chain.

Next is also one of three brands, along with New Yorker and LPP, that IndustriALL filed complaints against at OECD’s National Contact Points (NCPs) in November last year, on the basis that complying with OECD guidelines and human rights due diligence is impossible under a military dictatorship.

Trade unions and garment workers in Myanmar gained support from the International Labour Conference in June when the ILO took the extraordinary step of invoking Article 33 of its constitution against the military regime in Myanmar.

Article 33 is the highest sanction in the ILO and has only been invoked three times in the organization’s history.

The resolution on Article 33 calls for governments, employers and workers to review investments in supply chains that may indirectly support the regime and disable all means that could be perpetuating egregious violations of workers’ rights

‘By continuing to source from Myanmar, brands are helping to finance repression. The resolution on Article 33 makes clear that no business system in the world can mitigate the risks of operating under a dictatorship that outlaws independent unions and imprisons workers. The only responsible course is to withdraw and work with IndustriALL on a responsible exit that protects workers,’ IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie said.