TUC Aid - Burma Cyclone Appeal

TUC Aid is making an appeal to affiliated trade unions and union members for funds for emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation of victims of Cyclone Nargis, which swept the densely populated Irrawaddy region and other coastal areas in Burma (Myanmar) on Saturday 3 May 2008.

The Cyclone has caused at least 22,000 deaths and extensive damage to infrastructure and property. Hundreds of thousands of people in the affected regions have been made homeless and are in dire need of clean water, food, clothes, shelter and essential medicines. The industrial zones around Rangoon where migrant workers from rural areas are concentrated have been badly hit while rice fields and fisheries in the Irrawaddy region, too, have been affected by the disaster.

All cheques should be drawn in favour of TUC Aid - Burma Cyclone Appeal and sent to TUC Aid, EUIRD, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS. Donations can also be made on line through www.tuc.org.uk/burmaappeal.

We shall be channelling support through the Federation of Trade Unions in Burma (FTUB) which plans to distribute clothing, medicine, and non-perishable food for displaced workers and their families, build temporary shelters and assist in providing needed counselling and health clinics. The TUC has close contacts with the FTUB which campaigns to restore democracy, human rights, social justice and trade unionism in Burma.

For further information, please, contact Bandula Kothalawala of the European Union and International Relations Department on 020 74671257 E-mail; bkothalawala@tuc.org.uk

Briefing document (300 words) issued 8 May 2008