Six labour activists in Burma were sentenced to prison terms of up to 28 years on 7 September after taking part in a May Day demonstration in the capital Rangoon this year.
All six were found guilty of "inciting hatred or contempt for the government," and some of them of membership of an "illegal organisation." Thurein Aung, Wai Lin, Myo Min and Kyaw Win were sentenced to 28 years in prison, while Nyi Nyi Zaw and Kyaw Kyaw were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
The sentences have been condemned by labour groups such as the International Trade Union Confederation and the International Labour Organisation as "intolerable" and "entirely unwarranted."
CLB likewise condemns the actions of the Burmese military government, and expresses its solidarity with all those standing up of workers' rights in Burma.