Following the 1962 Burmese coup d'état, trade unions were suspended from 1962 to 1988. During the 8888 Uprising, protesting committees demanded the right organise trade unions without political interference. In September 1998, labour activists re-formed a national trade union movement in Rangoon (present-day Yangon). In 1991, the coalition of affiliated unions formed the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB) as an underground labour movement.