Washington -- In Burma there are still widespread cases of "forced labor, including child labor and forced relocation," according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Rangoon regime's failings were announced in a March 13 Labor Department press release on the updating of its 1998 report on labor practices in Burma. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs prepared the report entitled "2000 Report on Labor Practices in Burma," as required by the U.S. Congress.

"This second report," the Labor Department said, "finds that forced labor, including child labor and forced relocation, are still widespread and that freedom of association and free collective bargaining are virtually non-existent in Burma."

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman scored the Burmese government and reiterated the Clinton Administration's call for a democratic transition from the military junta that has ruled the Southeast Asian nation since 1988.

"The worker abuses in Burma," Herman said, "are symptomatic of the current regime's gross disregard for human rights. The (Clinton) Administration has remained constant in its vision of a just world built on such universal principals as the dignity of work and the right of all people to improve their lot and support their families.

"This latest report on labor practices in Burma," Herman emphasized, "reinforces our position that the international community must continue to push for a democratic transition in that country."

Herman reiterated the charge President Clinton made before the International Labor Organization (ILO) last June, "'Today, one member state, Burma, stands in defiance of the ILO's most fundamental values and most serious findings.'"

The report charges that forced labor "is used with impunity and apparently on a widespread basis ... to support tourism, in military operations, and for commercial ventures of the military."

Ethnic minorities, the report asserts, "are subject to forced relocation, which seems to go hand-in-hand with forced labor."

The Government of Burma, the report said, "has failed to change laws or practices to guarantee freedom of association and collective bargaining."

Abusive child labor, the report charged, "is not uncommon and there are reports that children are drafted as soldiers and used as human mine sweepers and shields."

The report further criticized the Rangoon regime for its "apparent lack of commitment for primary education" saying it "contributes to exploitative child labor."

The ILO's governing body, the U.S. Labor Department noted, is scheduled to consider recommendations for further action against Burma the week of March 27, with those recommendations being taken up at the full ILO for action in June.

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