The All Burma Trade Union Congress was a central

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

organisation in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. ABTUC was founded on January 30, 1940. ABTUC had its origins in the All Burma Labour Conference, which had been assembled by the

Thakins Dobama Asiayone ( my, တို့ဗမာအစည်းအရုံး, ''Dóbăma Ăsì-Ăyòun'', meaning ''We Burmans Association'', DAA), commonly known as the Thakhins ( my, သခင် ''sa.hkang'', lit. Lords), was a Burmese national ...

in July 1939. In August 1940 ABTUC publicly stated the goals of the organisation; racial and gender equality, social welfare, minimum wage, standardisation of working hours, better working conditions and establishing a socialist state with socialisation of production, distribution and exchange.

Ba Swe Ba Swe ( my, ဘဆွေ, ; 17 October 1915 – 6 December 1987) was the second Prime Minister of Burma. He was a leading Burmese politician during the decade after the country gained its independence from Britain in 1948. He held the position ...

was the main figure behind the ABTUC in its early stage. ABTUC suspended its activities when

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

occupied Burma.Seabury Thomson, John. ''Marxism in Burma'', in Trager, Frank N (ed.).
Marxism in Southeast Asia; A Study of Four Countries
'. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1959. p. 26 ABTUC was re-constituted on June 1, 1945, with Thakin Ba Hein (a prominent leader of the

Communist Party of Burma The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is a clandestine communist party in Myanmar (Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country. Founded in 1939, the CPB initially fought aga ...

) as its president. At this point, ABTUC counted with fourteen affiliated trade unions with a combined membership of 11,500. On July 9, 1945 ABTUC requested affiliation to the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

. After the death of Thakin Ba Hein in 1946, the leadership of ABTUC was taken over by

H. N. Goshal Hamendrnath Goshal ( bn, হেমেন্দ্রনাথ ঘোষাল; 1915–1967), also known as Harinarayan Ghoshal or Thakin Ba Tin ( my, သခင်ဘတင်, ), was a communist politician and trade union leader in Burma, of Ben ...

. In November 1945

socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

set up the

Trade Union Congress (Burma) The Trade Union Congress (Burma) was a central trade union organization in Burma. The TUC(B) was founded by the Socialist Party in November 1945, in an attempt to counter the influence of the communist-led All Burma Trade Union Congress.Rose, Saul. ...

to counter the influence of the ABTUC. In July and September 1946 the ABTUC, under the leadership of

Thakin Than Tun Thakin Than Tun ( my, သခင် သန်းထွန်း; 1911 – 24 September 1968) was a Burmese politician and leader of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) from 1945 until his assassination in 1968. He was uncle of the former State C ...

, organised a series of strikes against the "repressive measures" of the

AFPFL The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL), ; abbreviated , ''hpa hsa pa la'' was the dominant political alliance in Burma from 1945 to 1958. It consisted of political parties and mass and class organizations. The league evolved out of ...

government. In September, ABTUC organised a general strike. Employees in all government department took part in the general strike. Apart for calling for democratic rights, the general strike also expressed anti-imperialist positions and calls for solidarity with the struggles of the peasantry. In March 1948, ABTUC mobilised a general strike amongst the workers of British-owned industries, refineries, workshops, dockyards, etc. Military forces were mobilised to crush the strike. Striking workers were attacked, and over 100 persons were injured. Soon after this incident, the Communist Party of Burma initiated its campaign of armed struggle.Trade Union Conference of Asian and Australasian Countries.
Working Class in the Struggle for National Liberation: Reports and Resolutions of the Trade Union Conference of Asian & Australasian Countries Called by the World Federation of Trade Unions
'. Bombay: People's Pub. House, 1949. p. 109 In the wake of the crack-down on the Communist Party of Burma, ABTUC was banned.Rosinger, Lawrence K.
The State of Asia; A Contemporary Survey
'. Essay index reprint series. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1971. p. 310

References

{{Trade unions in Myanmar navbox 1940 establishments in Burma Trade unions in Myanmar World Federation of Trade Unions Burma in World War II Trade unions established in 1940 Trade unions disestablished in 1948