Fast Retailing says supplier plants in Myanmar set on fire

How does burning your workplace keep you employed?

Maybe it was run by Chinese company? They don't like Chinese there right now.

Maybe the arsonists understand that in order for Fast Fashion to do business in uber-corrupt Myanmar, they must offer the generals and their army huge profits and incentives, to say nothing of kickbacks and slush funds? To say nothing of the pittance said workers get to keep from each garment made, compared to the end profit this outside company takes back to Japan?

You could look at this two ways: sure, it's "biting the hand that feeds you" in that the factories did employ at least some local workers. They will suffer. But is it also not "biting the hand that feeds those who would steal your rights and shoot you" as well? If the coup leaders have one fewer bullet with which to shoot at innocent street protestors because of this action - is it "right" or "wrong"?

Poor Fast Retailing. Really tough on them. and on the consumers around the world who benefit from their use of sweatshops in Myanmar and other "frontier economies".

This proves cheap labor has a great price.

Sometimes freedom is worth more than a pittance paid fo sweatshop labour. Some in Myanmar have already paid a far higher price and many thousands continue to risk paying that price because freedom is worth it.

How does burning your workplace keep you employed?

CDM members are burning Chinese owned businesses but have made some mistakes burning South Korean and other nation's factories. Taiwan and South Korea are telling their companies to display their nation's flags at their plants so CDM will leave them alone. We don't know if the factories mentioned in the article were directly owned and operated by Uniqlo or were contractors perhaps owned by the Chinese. There was an instance in the past few days where a Chinese firm was having a labor dispute with it's Myanmar employees. The firm called Myanmar security forces to break up the strike and they killed four of the workers who were striking. China has also made some veiled references to intervene in the Myanmar uprising that have only fueled the hatred of all things Chinese in Myanmar.