Despite negotiations on Tuesday, management and employees of the Myanmar Mayson Industries Co. Ltd. did not reach an agreement regarding a massive dismissal of factory workers.
Myanmar Mayson Industries Co. Ltd., which manufactures Good Morning brand bread and pastries, fired 193 workers from its factory in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone on March 8, stating that it was automating its production process.

Around 400 workers, including the dismissed employees, staged a sit-in protest in front of the factory that began on March 9.
“We could not negotiate an agreement. The factory owner did not show up. He sent a representative who was not authorized to make decisions. So we had to proceed to Rangoon Division [industrial dispute settlement] arbitration,” said Ko Zaw Lin Khaing, chairman of the factory’s trade union.
U Kyaw Kyaw, the secretary of the trade union, said the workers were made redundant without prior notice.
The Irrawaddy was not able to obtain a comment from company management.
“The employer is in the wrong. The strike happened because they [the employer] did as they wished without carefully consulting with employees and employee leaders,” said Ma Win Theingi Soe, an arbitrator on the Hlaing Tharyar Township industrial dispute settlement arbitration committee.
According to the workers, many who were dismissed had worked at the factory for more than 10 years, some for nearly 20 years since the establishment of the factory.
Management has said compensation would be provided but workers said they wanted their jobs back and would continue to protest until they were re-employed.

                                                                                            By Thazin Hlaing 16 March 2017

Arakan State parliamentarian U Naing Kyway Aye told The Irrawaddy that the Rangoon-based owner of a local Thandwe hotel purchased land with the intent to develop it without permission from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
The National League for Democracy regional MP said that Daw Mar Mar Khin, the owner of the Pleasant View Hotel, in recent months bought 50 acres of land covered in mangrove palm trees from local villagers, at five lakhs per acre (US$368)—well below the market rate.

Pleasant View Resort’s manager Ko Than Htike Aung confirmed that his boss is implementing a new project but that it is not being officially launched as a hotel resort. He denied accusations that the resort was cutting down mangrove palms to carry out construction work and claimed that the land had been purchased after being officially registered in the regional land department.
“Recently, we just developed a road to link with the village,” he added.
The area in question is located near Mayut Kalay village in Thandwe, southern Arakan State. Along the Ngapali coastline, developers need to obtain permission for the construction of new structures from local authorities and the Union ministry of hotels and tourism in Naypyidaw directly handles hotel business permits.
“As far as I know that place is vacant land. But the villagers indiscriminately sold 50 acres of mangrove palm and now the hotel owner has already built four wooden huts. I think in a period of time they are going to cut down the palms there for construction,” U Naing Kyway Aye said.
Lower house lawmaker U Min Kyi of Thandwe Constituency corroborated U Naing Kyway Aye’s conclusion that the palm mangrove is believed to be on vacant—rather than registered—land, unlisted in public records. It is possible, he added, that the farmers sold it without having owned it in the first place.
Of concern, U Min Kyi also said, is environmental impact of a project in the area, as the mangroves are crucial in protecting the coastline from flooding and other damage during hurricanes. The parliamentarian said he would gather a team of environmental activists to assess the project.
Lawmaker U Naing Kyway Aye complained to the regional minister of planning and finance U Kyaw Aye Thein that the project had been under discrete construction for months, even though local Thandwe authorities had not been informed. Three ministers from the Arakan State government checked the location in February, and reminded the owner to adhere to the ministry’s construction procedures.
U Kyaw Aye Thein said that the Pleasant View Resort owner had not applied for a business permit but confirmed that she had already constructed a restaurant and some wooden huts on the land. He could not verify whether the 50 acres of mangrove palms had indeed been vacant land or had been owned by the villagers. He asked the land record department and township land management committee to scrutinize the area’s background.
Some local sources told The Irrawaddy that 15 acres of mangrove palms had already been cut down, but Minister U Kyaw Aye Thein rejected this assertion, saying that the hotel had cleared enough trees only to build a 40-foot thatched roof building, linked to a road.
Hotel owner Daw Mar Mar Khin has since presented her conceptual plan for a tourist destination to ministers, who suggested that she submit the proposal officially to the ministry, explained U Kyaw Aye Thein. He told The Irrawaddy that environmental and development factors would have to be considered before permission would be granted.
“As you know, the only activities in Ngapali are swimming and sunbathing. So, they [the Pleasant View Resort] would like to make a different structure. By developing that area, the locals could benefit. We should encourage them,” he said.

Burma Top Ten 2017 Travel Destinations

Burma has been listed in the top ten countries to visit in 2017 by renowned travel guide the Lonely Planet.
The country ranked ninth in the ‘Top Countries’ category of the Best in Travel 2017 list.
Canada was named the best country to visit in 2017, followed by Colombia, Finland, Dominica, Nepal, Bermuda, Mongolia and Oman. Ethiopia ranked tenth.
Lonely Planet states that Burma’s “election of the first civilian government in half a century has all eyes on the future … Southeast Asia’s most secretive country is poised to receive an influx of travelers.”
Burma was ruled by a military junta for half a century, isolating the country from the international community and transforming one of Asia’s most prosperous nations into one of its poorest.
The country’s first fully elected government took office in March this year and the tourism sector is expected to boom. reading more …