Burma: ITUC Calls for Major Humanitarian Effort

The ITUC has called for a massive international humanitarian relief effort following the devastation caused by tropical cyclone Nargis which hit Burma on Friday night. The call follows a humanitarian appeal immediately after the cyclone by the independent Federation of Trade Unions – Burma, an Associated Organisation of the ITUC. At least 22,000 people are believed to have been killed, with hundreds of thousands more made homeless and tens of thousands still missing and feared dead. Initial aid pledges have been made by several countries, with neighbouring countries and UN agencies already mobilising emergency relief.

Brussels, 7 May 2008: The ITUC has called for a massive international humanitarian relief effort following the devastation caused by tropical cyclone Nargis which hit Burma on Friday night. The call follows a humanitarian appeal immediately after the cyclone by the independent Federation of Trade Unions – Burma, an Associated Organisation of the ITUC. At least 22,000 people are believed to have been killed, with hundreds of thousands more made homeless and tens of thousands still missing and feared dead. Initial aid pledges have been made by several countries, with neighbouring countries and UN agencies already mobilising emergency relief.

“It is critically important that the Burmese military junta allow international relief to be delivered by agencies and governments without restriction. A humanitarian effort of huge magnitude is required, and the military must allow this desperately-needed help to reach the people who need it”, said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder.

The junta has already come under criticism for failing to inform people of the severity of the storm as it approached the country, even though the Indian authorities informed Burma’s rulers of the strength of the cyclone some 2 days in advance. Water and power supplies to the capital Rangoon and elsewhere have been severely affected, and concerns over health and basic services in the cyclone’s aftermath are growing.

In spite of the humanitarian crisis, the junta has announced that it intends to go ahead on 10 May, in all but the worst affected areas of the country, with a widely discredited “referendum” on a military-designed Constitution aimed at entrenching the military’s power over the country.

The ITUC represents 168 million workers in 155 countries and territories and has 311 national affiliates.

For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on +32 2 224 0204 or +32 476 621 018.