80 LWF Myanmar staffs, who demanded full salaries, fired

The Luther World Federation (LWF) in Sittwe, the capital city of Rakhine State, has fired 80 Myanmar employees, who demanded full salaries in Euros.

The employees were not happy as their  salaries were paid in Burmese currency notes instead of Euros, which was agreed in the contract.

They were fired on 4 September by sending personal emails, a person in charge of the LWF protection project informed  Narinjara News.

The group  signed an agreement to pay over  90 employees in Euros, but the Myanmar employees were paid in Kyats (at the rate of Kyats 2,200 per Euro).

"When we are being paid at the rate of Kyats 2,200 by the central bank, we are deprived of extra money. It is now difficult for us to live with the salaries,” he added.

However, the LWF authority denied any change. The concerned  person argued that the employees were discussing over the issue for more than two years.

“But they do not listen to the employees. So altogether  92  employees participated in a silent protest. The management clarified that Burmese employees will be paid in Kyats only,” he added.

Among those fired employees, there are 37 women including four pregnant ladies and four nursing mothers.

Another female staff member stated that the authority didn't pay the salaries for August as they joined in the protest program.

“This is a clear violation of workers' fundamental rights. The officials are earning extra money due to the tempered exchange rates,” she added.

The value of Kyats is going down every day. The Myanmar employees are demanding their salaries  according to the exchange rate of private banks.

A male employee revealed that the workers do their duties sincerely. Even during the outbreak of Covid-19, they  worked to fulfil the company's target.

“During the Mocha storm, we had to  stay in the monasteries because the houses were fully destroyed. Even after a lot of troubles, we completed our  works within the specified time,” he added.

Now many  employees are suffering from depression and other psychological damages, even though they work for an international organisation dedicating on humanitarian and development activities.

The LWF group is based in Geneva and it has operations in four Rakhine townships namely  Mrauk U, Pauk Taw, Ponna Kyunt and Ann.

The LWF officials based at Thisar road of  north Sanpya ward in Sittwe were not available for any detail. The social media account of  LWF states that it works with the donations from 16 international organizations like  EU, UNHCR, UNICEF, Norwegian Refugee Council, etc.