A copper mine in northern Sagaing region, jointly owned by the military and a Chinese company, has ceased operations after more than 2,000 workers walked out.Īnd hundreds of engineers and other staff working for Mytel, a telecoms operator part-owned by the military, have stopped work. The strikes are also disrupting parts of the military’s vast business empire. “Those who are away from their duties are requested to return to their duties immediately for the interests of the country and people,” he said.
In a statement published on a military Facebook page on Thursday, Min Aung Hlaing said “unscrupulous” people were inciting civil servants to leave work. Many thousands including nurses, doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, farmers, railway staff, civil servants, factory workers and even some police officers, have gone on strike or defected in a bid to cripple the new military government. Trains have ground to a halt, hospitals have closed, and ministries in the capital, Naypyidaw, are believed to be straining amid mass walkouts. A civil disobedience movement began almost immediately and amassed support from broad swaths of society.
