THE ROLE OF THE TRADE UNIONS IN THE LABOR DISPUTE SETTLEMENT (ALL BURMA FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS

After legalization of trade unions had been done, numerous trade unions were formed and the role of trade union in dispute settlement process was contentious in current labor politics. There were also the unions that don’t want to legalize their existence. This research, specifically to such kind of unions, aims to explore why All Burma Federation of Trade Unions (ABFTU) was organized beyond the current legal structure and what is their role in solving workers disputes in the factory. This would be find out the key challenges of the formation of member unions for trade unionism in basic level by two case studies which are MCE Trade Union and Fu Yuen Trade Union. This research is conducted by eight semi structure in-depth interviews (KII) and one focus group discussion, secondary data of related parties as well. By conducting qualitative analysis, Myanmar Trade Unionism is in the process of developing and in the struggle to be granted for the workers’ rights. However, the basic labor unions are under oppressive behavior of factory management. The key challenges for trade union movement are lack of sufficient funds in the stage of turmoil and oppressive discrimination of employers