International labour standards and mechanisms

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Websites/Multiple Documents

Title: International Labour Organisation (ILO)
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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Individual Documents

Title: ILO chief: Workers in informal economy face 'utter destitution'
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)..."
Source/publisher: "Talk To Aljazeera"
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-26
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Type: Individual Documents
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Title: Garment industry policies endangering pregnancies, women’s health
Summary: "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...
Sub-title: Pregnancy labour laws go ignored by garment factory owners, leaving female workers in perilous positions
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..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-18
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Type: Individual Documents
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Title: Labour bodies to push for higher minimum wage in Myanmar
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)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-10
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Type: Individual Documents
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Title: Worker organising can counter labour abuse in the Global South
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..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-09
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Type: Individual Documents
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Title: Managing employees in Myanmar: Pay, time off, and other requirements
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..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-08
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Type: Individual Documents
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