About 100 people staged a protest in Bagan on the evening of December 8 as the government fails to negotiate the dismissal of workers from Tharapar Hotel in Bagan and puts pressure on them to close the protest camp.
Protestors called for the reappointment of dismissed workers, making an investigation into the land rental for Tharapar Hotel. They also chanted they don’t want crony businessmen who may tarnish the image of ancient Bagan region and make capitalization on locals.
Ko Nay Myo Win, a protestor said: “We have opened the protest camp for 58 days. We plan to step up our protest as the authorities are turning a blind eye to it.”
The hotel owner dismissed the chair of labour union and nine members of the labour union, citing the fact that the hotel received the lower number of guests. They decided to open the protest camp on October 12.
Ko Thein Shwe from the HLOB said: “We staged a protest as the labour leader and workers are illegally dismissed without any reason. We decided to protest against it as the negotiations were not ok. This case can tarnish the image of our region. The owner pays service money according to the desire. There are many employers who don’t pay salaries in accord with the Minimum Wage Law.
This year, Bagan-NyaungU region sees a significant decline in the number of tourist arrivals. It has to rely mainly on local visitors. Some tourists cancel their bookings due to the Rakhine issue.
