Myanmar lost an estimated 1.2 million jobs in the second quarter following the February military coup that crippled an economy already weakened by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).

“Myanmar was already facing economic stress with jobs and livelihoods under threat as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Donglin Li, the agency’s representative for Myanmar, said in a statement. “However, the estimates show a serious and rapid deterioration in employment in the first half of this year on a scale that could drive many in Myanmar into deep poverty.”

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The post Heavy Job Losses in Myanmar Since Coup: ILO Report first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Hundreds of workers took to the streets in Myanmar on Tuesday to call for a living wage, while in Laos marchers asked for social welfare benefits and better protection for citizens working abroad, sources said.

Meanwhile, in Cambodia, workers gathered but were forbidden to march, sources in the country said.

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The post Workers in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia call for better pay, benefits first appeared on Open Development Mekong.