Myanmar police on Wednesday arrested dozens of activists and factory workers as they broke up a labour rights march on the capital, the latest rally to test freedoms under Aung San Suu Kyi's new civilian government.

"We arrested about 60 protesters today. We tried to do it without hurting anyone," said Naypyidaw police chief Ko Ko Aung, after police swooped in on the demonstrators as they neared the capital where they wanted to speak with the new pro-democracy administration.