Junta threatens to suspend striking education staff 

The military regime warned all education workers participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement’s (CDM) general strike that they would be temporarily laid off if they did not return to school on Monday.  

A letter dated March 19 and signed by Dr. Thein Win, director-general of the junta’s higher education department, stated that the decision had been made at a Ministry of Education meeting.

The letter said that government education workers–in the minister’s office, various departments, and in universities and colleges–who failed to return to work by March 22 would be suspended on March 23. 

“The warning letters were sent to education workers through relevant professors and department heads. But some education workers still do not know about it,” a university teacher participating in the CDM told Myanmar Now on the condition of anonymity.

The teacher described the letter as signifying the first sign that striking education workers would be formally removed by the military council from their positions, even temporarily. He added that there are concerns that workers will next be forced to sign pledges renouncing the CDM, followed by permanent dismissal, and finally, legal action against those on strike. 

“How can all the employees withstand these four stages? We recommend that they continue to endure it to the level that they can handle,” the university teacher said. 

Some teachers from the National University of Arts and Culture– which has branches in Yangon and Mandalay– had already faced temporary lay-offs and were removed from their staff housing, he added. 

The military junta has been pressuring civil servants involved in the CDM to return to work through threats, coercion, and lawsuits. In some instances, the armed forces have carried out violent crackdowns on striking workers at their staff housing. 

In early March, the junta attempted to persuade education officials and workers to attend capacity-building courses that they would provide. The General Strike Committee of Basic Education Workers urged all invited participants to refuse to join the courses because they were being offered by the same illegitimate military administration that staged the February 1 coup in Myanmar. 

Some joined anyway, another teacher participating in the CDM told Myanmar Now. 

The General Strike Committee of Basic Education Workers issued a statement declaring that it would oppose all orders and directives issued by the military council. The statement warned that department heads who attempted to coerce employees into working under the junta would be identified and considered traitors.