International labour standards and mechanisms

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Websites/Multiple Documents

Description: Link to the main ILO section of OBL
Source/publisher: Online Burma/Myanmar Library
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-29
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English (some Spanish and French)
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Description: "The junta’s Labor Ministry has instructed overseas employment agencies to suspend recruitment drives as of Feb. 13, according to the Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Association (MOEAA). The suspension comes after the regime introduced mandatory military service for the young population, which is expected to trigger a stampede for the border. Nationwide, 14 million people – 6.3 million men and 7.7 million women – are eligible for conscription, according to the 2019 census. The ministry has not issued an official suspension notice but instead replied to agencies seeking permission to post recruitment letters that it had stopped accepting international employment offers. “The ministry said it had suspended accepting job offers from around the world as of Feb. 13. It did not say how long the suspension would last,” said an MOEAA official. The abrupt suspension has created problems for employment agencies, said a manager. “We have to spend a lot of time to get a letter of job offers. We have to negotiate an agreement with the foreign employer, and there is a long process before we get the contract to hire people for him. The ministry has now suspended it abruptly, which causes problems for us,” said the manager. The order does not affect people hired for job contracts posted before Feb. 13. Employment agencies send 500 to 800 legal migrant workers daily to Thailand under a government-to-government memorandum of understanding. Between 200 and 300 people are sent daily to other countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan. The conscription law, which was activated by the regime on Feb. 10, requires all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve in the Myanmar military for two to five years. The call-up to fight in a military widely reviled for perpetrating countless war crimes on civilians is expected to accelerate young people’s plans to study or work abroad..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2024-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2024-02-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Western countries and international NGOs like to portray themselves as promoters and protectors of human rights, democracy, justice, fairness and equality. Their humanitarian and development aid often comes with conditions for recipients: take a human rights-based approach, be gender sensitive, socially inclusive, etc. However, the treatment of employees by embassies and some INGOs is indicative of their hypocrisy. This analysis is based on interviews with several employees of western embassies and INGOs in Yangon. The people of Myanmar are suffering real hardship driven by ever rising food prices, plummeting value of the kyat, lack of opportunities, and worsening political and security turmoil. Everyone is feeling the pain one way or another, with no telling when it will end. But as the saying goes, “the best thing about the worst time in your life, is that you get to see the true colors of everyone.” Seeing the true nature of a person or organization is a valuable insight because it can act as a guide for future relations. Not practicing what you preach Western countries and INGOs have provided or supported training in human rights, democracy, women rights, gender equality, and labor rights in developing countries for decades. However, the rights training is often limited to teaching citizens how to challenge authority in their own countries. Rights-promoting countries and organizations often refuse to tolerate any challenge to their own influence or authority. When local staff at some western embassies in Myanmar recently complained that their salaries have not been raised to match soaring inflation, bosses told them they could find work elsewhere, according to sources at two embassies. Elsewhere, the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation (LWF Myanmar) fired 80 staff from its Sittwe branch on September 4 after they demanded their euro salaries be paid at the real market rate rather than the overvalued kyat rate set by the junta-controlled central bank. Those fired included pregnant women, married women and staff whose job contracts ranged from one to three years. The report on the sackings was among the outlet’s top five most-read articles that week. LWF Myanmar later told the fired staff, except the protest leaders, that they could return to work – an invitation many were forced to accept amid the soaring cost of living and limited job opportunities. Ironically, LWF Myanmar does not seem to practice what it preaches. The organization’s website cites “Dignity, Human Rights, and Justice; Compassion and Commitment; and Humanitarian Principles” as its “Core Values”. It also aims to promote human rights of vulnerable communities in Myanmar by empowering communities to effectively claim land rights, right to legal identity, rights of women and the right to education. However, the move to fire its entire Sittwe staff prompts us to ask just how committed LWF Myanmar is to its own stated core values. The Sittwe workers went on strike after being paid at the official exchange rate of 2,100 kyat per euro instead of the real rate of nearly 4,000. “We have been asking for the market exchange rate for nearly two years. They [LWF Myanmar] did nothing, so our entire Sittwe staff stopped coming to the office from August 14,” said one of the sacked staffers. “They did not negotiate anything with us. On September 4, they unfairly fired the entire Sittwe office staff by email.” LWF’s reported refusal to negotiate – and then summary sacking of the workers after they withdrew their labor in protest – is surely at odds with the labor rights it loudly espouses. Soaring inflation “Personally, I feel bad about asking for a raise,” said an INGO staffer. “But I had to do so to keep my family afloat as the kyat’s value plunges.” Surging commodity prices have soared even higher since the central bank introduced the 20,000-kyat note at the end of July. The Yangon price of 1 pyi (1.9 kg) of low-grade Aemahta rice – the staple for millions in Myanmar – rose 38 percent between July 19 and August 21, according to a survey by the state-run Myanmar Alinn newspaper. It continued to rise by another 10 percent from August 21 to September 11. Similar rises were recorded in Mandalay (14 percent and 20 percent) and Myitkyina (14 percent and 23 percent). The Yangon price of onions over the same period rose 15 percent, then skyrocketed 54 percent. Meanwhile, the onion price rose 9 percent and 64 percent in Mandalay and 7 percent and 54 percent in Myitkyina. Purchasing power collapsing as kyat plunges The market exchange rate on June 19, before the announcement of the 20,000-kyat banknote, was 2,970 kyat per dollar (the official rate is 2,100). On July 25, after the announcement, the kyat plunged to 3,300 per dollar. It was 3,690/dollar on Aug. 31, then 3,500 on Sept. 13, and is now around 3,400. On Aug. 22 the junta announced that exporters must sell 50 percent of their foreign-currency earnings to the central bank at the official rate 2,100 kyats per dollar. Plus, any of the remaining 50 percent not recycled through export-import connections had to be sold to the central bank at a rate of 2,900 kyats/dollar. Importers of key goods like medicine and fuel could then buy greenbacks from the central bank at the rate of 2,922 kyats/dollar. However, importers complain they are unable to buy dollars from banks at the stated rate and must pay the market rate. As a result, prices of many imported goods have soared by more than 100 percent, with increased costs transferred to consumers. Hence, in terms of purchasing power, Myanmar has become a happy hunting ground for diplomats and leaders of INGOs who get paid either in euros or dollars. In contrast, Myanmar citizens are finding their income can no longer keep up with ever-rising living costs. Since the new banknote’s introduction, fuel prices have soared at an unprecedented rate, worsening living conditions as transport costs surge for millions of citizens. In Yangon, the retail price of diesel has increased by 21 percent, according to the Myanmar Alinn survey from July 21 to Sept. 12. Meanwhile, the price of premium diesel rose by 20 percent, Octaine 92 by 9 percent, and Octane 95 by 8.7 percent. Similar rises were seen across the country. The price of goods is also being driven up by the ongoing civil war. All major roads are now dotted with checkpoints controlled either by junta troops or resistance forces who collect toll fees that add to transport costs. Labor rights and salary disputes Labor rights empower workers to protest and insist on being paid in a universally recognized currency. For example, the International Labor Organization (ILO)’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work includes the “right to collective bargaining”. Even jurisdictions that have not ratified the Conventions in question are obliged to ensure workers can exercise their basic rights. In the case of LWF Myanmar in Sittwe, local staff merely exercised their “right to collective bargaining” when they refused to work after their repeated requests were ignored. Moreover, it is also legal to demand salaries be paid in US dollars. The Payment Wages Law (2016) stipulates that employers can pay their staff either in local currency or foreign currencies that are recognized by the Central Bank of Myanmar. Some western embassies in compliance Some embassies in Myanmar do pay local staff in US dollars exchanged into kyats at the market rate. Others pay half in dollars and half in the local currency. Staff at these embassies have expressed gratitude toward their employers, as well as sympathy for colleagues who do not enjoy similar treatment. Since the coup, UN agencies have considered Myanmar a high-risk security environment and paid staff including drivers a monthly $400 “danger-payment”. The payment is reportedly reviewed every month. Budget in euros or dollars, spend in local currency Salary is a fixed cost for embassies and international agencies and is usually budgeted in advance in either dollars or euros. However, local exchange rate volatility coupled with cuts in international aid since the coup are taking a heavy toll on local staff. Several European embassies have told their local staff that development aid to Myanmar has been cut because of the war in Ukraine and changes in government policy, according to interviews with several staff members. The staff are told that economic hardship is a global phenomenon and Myanmar is not the only country in crisis. The implied message is that local staff should not complain or make demands. In real terms, local staff are not demanding salary increases but only to be paid either in dollars, or at the market exchange rate, or in line with inflation, according to INGOs and embassy staff interviewed. Who is benefiting from exchange-rate gains? There are currently at least three exchange rates in Myanmar – two official rates set by the junta (2,100 and 2900 kyats per dollar) and the market rate of around 3,400 per dollar. Of the international organizations contractually obliged to pay local staff in dollars, some calculate kyat salaries at the official exchange rate while others offer the market rate. At the organizations and embassies that do not pay locals in dollars or the market-rate equivalent, it is unclear who benefits from gains made on the exchange rate. It would be interesting to know if those gains are returned to the donor government, heads of missions, or senior leaders of the organizations. No protections for Myanmar workers A local staffer at a western embassy in Yangon queried whether his colleagues in neighboring countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia get the same treatment. He wondered whether western missions were exploiting Myanmar employees because they lack legal protections. Another embassy staffer said, “They [donors] look down on local staff because we do not have a good government. The exploitation might not occur if we had an elected government to protect us, rather than a military regime.” Embassies take the attitude that local staff have few if any alternatives but to continue working for survival, so refuse to address their grievances, according to an embassy employee. The bleak outlook extends to workers across the whole economy amid the erosion of labor rights since the 2021 military takeover. In an interview with BBC Burmese last year, Yangon factory worker Hay Man spoke for many when said she was active in the labor rights movement before the military coup but is now more careful for fear of being laid off. She said that since the coup, workers have been routinely fired without reason, denied leave and holidays, had work contracts violated, and refused overtime pay. Meanwhile, workers seeking solutions to disputes are often denied meetings with government labor officials, leaving them no choice but to continue working despite the rights violations. The junta’s governing body, which calls itself the State Administration Council (SAC), has ignored the plight of its workforce and even jailed labor rights activists. In other words, the regime wants all the benefits from workers without any of the protections. In the latest example of exploitation, the junta imposed a tax of up to 10 percent on the salaries of Myanmar citizens working abroad, effective from Oct. 1. Observers noted that the cash-strapped regime is now double-taxing Burmese expatriates to extract foreign currency from them. Three core labor reforms needed The irrationality, self-interest, and economic mismanagement of successive junta leaders have earned Myanmar the status of “least developed country”, with its resources and citizens exploited to the hilt. Regarding labor rights, there are three obvious tasks to ensure legal protections for workers. First, Myanmar has no core law covering labor rights, which are instead covered by 12 separate laws that are sectoral in nature. As a result, employers, both foreign and local, often exploit their workers due to a lack of comprehensive legal protections. Second, currently only civil servants or government employees are covered by the pension scheme. The rest of the population must rely on themselves or their children in their old age. There is no law that requires private-sector employers to provide pensions. The starting point here should be to amend Myanmar’s Social Security Law (2012) that exempts “international organizations, embassies or consulates of foreign governments; non-profit companies, associations or organizations” from having to provide social security to their employees.” Third, enforce compliance with existing labor laws, and change authorities’ attitude toward labor rights activists who demand a fair share in return for workers’ contribution to the economy..."
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2023-10-05
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: With two competing nominations to attend its annual conference, the ILO’s Credentials Committee must decide who represents Myanmar: the military council or the NUG
Description: "The question of who represents Myanmar—the military council or the National Unity Government (NUG)—is being debated by the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Credentials Committee in a challenge put forward by labour activists and elected leaders against the coup regime. At the time of reporting, the committee was deliberating on the matter ahead of the 109th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC)—set to resume online on June 3 following an initial opening last week—after both the junta-run Ministry of Labour and the NUG submitted delegations to represent Myanmar at the conference. When there are competing nominations, neither delegation is able to participate in the conference—referred to by the ILO as “the global parliament of labour”—until a decision is made by the Credentials Committee, a source close to the labour movement explained. “They will have to prove that they are the most representative delegation of the country,” the source said of the committee’s process. “[The delegations] also need to prove that they accept responsibility as a member state for carrying out the obligations under the ILO Constitution. And they need to show the procedures through which they arrived at their claim that they are the most representative.” The ILO, which did not respond to a request for comment, is the only UN specialised agency that requires delegations from its 187 member states to include representation from three entities: government, employers, and workers. The Credentials Committee follows the same structure. Kyaw Ni, the NUG’s Deputy Minister of Labour, told Myanmar Now that their delegation met the ILO’s criteria and included the participation of an independent employer, and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM) as the workers’ delegate. The deputy minister emphasised that the NUG’s legitimacy did not only come from its formation by the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw—made up of elected and subsequently ousted lawmakers—but also in contrast to the widespread violence perpetrated by the junta’s armed forces since the February 1 coup. “The military council has been violating human rights and doing very inhumane things to their own people. There are also many violations of labour rights of both regular workers and civil servants,” Kyaw Ni said. “We have been building a case to show all of the ways in which they have violated these rights legally and according to ILO principles like the freedom of association and the right to job security.” He referenced the banning of labour organisations in the country and the regime’s recent mass dismissal of civil servants—including tens of thousands of striking teachers, bank employees, transportation workers, doctors and nurses—as examples of these violations. “The military council has been violating human rights and doing very inhumane things to their own people. There are also many violations of labour rights of both regular workers and civil servants." It is not believed that the junta’s delegation had the endorsement of a Myanmar-based trade union, local sources said. The workers’ movement has been an integral force within the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement, which is aimed at toppling the coup, and has denounced any cooperation with the military council’s labour ministry. International trade unions have rallied in support of NUG’s application to represent Myanmar at the ILC, according to CTUM President Maung Maung, for whom the military authorities issued an arrest warrant on Friday. Along with nearly 30 other trade union leaders and central committee members wanted by the regime, he is charged with committing incitement and violating Section 505a of the Penal Code, which carries a three-year prison sentence. Others are facing sedition charges. Unions and workers’ coalitions based in a number of countries—including Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, the Philippines—have issued open letters to the ILO demanding that the NUG’s delegation be recognised as the legitimate representative of Myanmar at the ILC. “This rejection at the ILC is one of the ways to weaken military regime and effect change within Myanmar without hurting any of the citizens and can lead to the regime to be disavowed by the UN,” CTUM’s May 17 appeal to international workers’ rights groups read. Deputy labour minister Kyaw Ni said that NUG recognition at the ILC would demonstrate “that the international community accepts a government that comes from the people and that they do not accept the junta that staged the coup,” adding that he hoped an ILO decision in the NUG’s favour would lead to greater acceptance of his government by other international actors. In April, junta representative Lt-Gen Than Hlaing participated in the 64th Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the governing body of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, drawing extensive criticism and raising questions as to whether the coup regime would be accepted as Myanmar country representatives at further UN forums. The World Health Organisation on Wednesday moved to exclude both the NUG and the military’s delegations from its 74th World Health Assembly “pending guidance from the United Nations General Assembly” at its next session in September. It is possible that the ILO’s Credentials Committee will do the same: exclude both delegations from its conference and wait for a larger committee to make the ruling at the UNGA, multiple sources noted. At that time, it is expected that the NUG and the military council will again submit competing delegations. “Going into the UNGA, it seems we do have a big chance of ousting the regime from representing Burma,” Maung Maung said. “What happens if the Burma seat is left vacant? The people win. The UN can show it has teeth.” He added that this would likely lead to the withdrawal of foreign investment and a halt to projects by international financial institutions, further isolating the coup council and its sources of revenue. “What happens if the Burma seat is left vacant? The people win. The UN can show it has teeth.” “The ‘false façade’ of successive regimes—that international resolutions and sanctions don’t have any impact on them—crumbles, as they would not be representing the country at UN forums,” Maung Maung told Myanmar Now. “This will take away the confidence of middle-level military officers and their blind faith in the regime.”..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-05-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: As COVID-19 shutdowns spike unemployment, the labour body's Guy Ryder discusses how governments can protect workers.
Description: "he coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we live. Nearly every country in the world has been affected. There have already been millions of infections, and hundreds of thousands of deaths. And while scientists work on developing a vaccine, governments are focusing on reducing the number of infections through social distancing and other preventive measures. But these restrictions have brought with them countless financial losses across the globe. The coronavirus recession is considered to be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of 1929. As COVID-19 measures halt international trade, shut down airports and leave businesses bankrupt, tens of millions of people have lost their jobs. And for many, being unemployed in the middle of a pandemic means not only losing their income but also losing access to healthcare. So, how can governments protect their workers and rebuild their economies? The director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO)..."
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Source/publisher: "Talk To Aljazeera"
2020-05-23
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: Garment Factory, Female Worker, Labour Rights
Sub-title: Pregnancy labour laws go ignored by garment factory owners, leaving female workers in perilous positions
Topic: Garment Factory, Female Worker, Labour Rights
Description: "On her way home from work on 9 November, Phyo Ei Ei Khine began experiencing lower back pain. It was not an altogether unfamiliar symptom, her workdays spent bent over a garment factory sewing machine often leaving her sore, but the pain and fatigue that particular day felt overwhelming. Married for three years, she was five months into her first pregnancy. By 2am that night she was up with severe abdominal pain. Pulling back the covers, she saw blood running down her legs. At the hospital, doctors told her she’d had a miscarriage. “They took the fetus away in a plastic bag. I didn’t want to look at it,” she recently told Myanmar Now, her eyes cast down to hide her tears. Myanmar's 2012 Social Security Law grants any employee registered for social security up to six weeks of paid medical leave after a miscarriage, and the 1951 Work and Holidays Act grants this same benefit even to those not registered for social security, though protections for day labourers and employees on probationary periods differ..."
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Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2020-01-13
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "LABOUR organisations look set on proposing an increase of the minimum wage in Myanmar when it is up for a review by May. This followed a study by the Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM) in Yangon, Bago, Mandalay, Magwe and Sagaing regions, as well as the Shan and Kayin states, according to The Myanmar Times. Central committee member U Win Zaw said they were inclined to propose 7200 kyats for eight hours of work, or 900 kyats per hour work, to the National Committee for Minimum Wage. Currently, the minimum wage is set at 4800 kyats for eight hours of work and was last reviewed in May 2018. “We have received recommendations from CTUM, labour activists and other federations that the minimum wage should be raised,” said Win Zaw. The National Committee for Minimum Wage includes 27 representatives from the government, workers and employers. The committee is tasked with reviewing the country’s minimum wage every two years. General secretary of the Myanmar Industries Craft and Services Trade Unions Federation, U Thet Hnin Aung, said they were conducting a similar survey and would reveal its findings once completed..."
Source/publisher: "New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
2020-01-10
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Consumer and corporate-focused approaches to labour exploitation and trafficking are ineffective.
Description: "Since 2010, the world has witnessed a marked shift in efforts to combat labour exploitation. As consumers have become more aware of labour abuses, international companies have been forced to scrutinise labour practices not only at their offices and sales outlets but also at the various factories involved in manufacturing their products. In accordance with laws like the 2015 UK Modern Slavery Act and 2010 California Supply Chain Transparency Act, multinational retailers like Walmart, and global brands like Zara, Gap, H & M and C & A have recently publicised modern slavery statements expressing a commitment to addressing forced labour. Such laws focus on increasing the transparency of the production process, which involves numerous levels of sub-contracting, often across continents - a pervasive practice that ensures low manufacturing costs. To comply with new regulations, many companies have established new corporate divisions for responsible sourcing and global sustainability, promising to investigate, audit, monitor, educate, and reduce the incidence of forced labour and human trafficking in the different factories they engage with..."
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Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
2020-01-09
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "As Myanmar continues to open to foreign investment, employers from other ASEAN countries and places farther afield have been setting up local operations. Understanding the requirements of Myanmar labour law is, of course, a crucial part of this. By staying in compliance with the country’s regulations on working conditions, leave and holiday entitlements, and other labour regulations, entrepreneurs can increase their likelihood of business success in Myanmar...Working hours and pay..... For shops, companies, trading centres, service enterprises, and entertainment houses, normal working hours are set by the Shop and Establishment Law 2016 at eight hours per day, or a maximum of 48 hours per week. Employees are entitled to at least one day off with pay per week, and the default weekly rest day is Sunday. Overtime working hours must not exceed 12 hours per week, or 16 hours in extraordinarily pressing circumstances. The prescribed minimum rest is at least 30 minutes after four hours of work. Under current practices of the Ministry of Labour, overtime pay must be calculated at double the employee’s basic wage..."
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Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-10-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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