News about the ILO and Burma/Myanmar

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Description: "Deep concern expressed at continual erosion of civic space and trade union rights in the country. GENEVA (ILO News) – On the third anniversary of the military takeover in Myanmar, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo has repeated his call for the immediate release of all those detained for exercising their civil liberties and carrying out legitimate trade union activities. "The future well-being of Myanmar depends on a peaceful transition to full democratic rule, which begins with the release of all those who are unjustly imprisoned. There can be no future for the people of Myanmar if it is not firmly anchored in the social justice they so richly deserve," he said. The Director-General highlighted the case of Thet Hnin Aung, General Secretary of Myanmar Industry Crafts & Services Trade Unions Federation (MICS-TUsF) who according to reports was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in late 2023 following the completion of an earlier sentence. “The sentencing of Thet Hnin Aung is a case for deep concern. The continual erosion of civic space and trade union rights in Myanmar, as highlighted in ILO’s recent Commission of Inquiry report, are unacceptable. Thet Hnin Aung and all those detained for carrying out legitimate trade union activities will not be forgotten,” Houngbo added. The case of Thet Hnin Aung was specifically addressed in the report of the ILO Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Myanmar. The CoI was established by the ILO Governing Body in March 2022 tasked with assessing reports of violence against trade union leaders, severe and repeated violations of basic civil liberties and a resurgence of forced labour. The incarceration of Thet Hnin Aung, along with ongoing actions that both undermine the civil liberties of trade union leaders and members, and undercut the labour movement, will inform the follow up to the CoI report at the March 2024 session of the ILO Governing Body..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organization (Geneva)
2024-02-01
Date of entry/update: 2024-02-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
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Sub-title: The high-level investigation will address the matters raised by the ILO Governing Body regarding the situation of freedom of association and forced labour in the country.
Description: "GENEVA (ILO News) – The Commission of Inquiry, set up by the ILO Governing Body of the International Labour Office at its 344th Session in March 2022, in respect of the non-observance by Myanmar of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) , and the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) , held its first session at the ILO Headquarters in Geneva from 25 to 27 August 2022. The first session of the Commission of Inquiry launched a procedure leading to a full and independent investigation into the matters brought before it by the Governing Body and the preparation of a report containing findings and recommendations to address these issues. The Commission’s members are eminent legal experts from the Philippines, South Africa and Bangladesh. There have previously been thirteen Commissions of Inquiry established by the ILO to investigate allegations of serious non-observance of ratified international labour standards. Such Commissions represent the highest level of ILO supervisory mechanisms..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organization
2022-09-02
Date of entry/update: 2022-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar trade unions and civil society organizations face existential threat following military takeover Targeted persecution severely limits ability to operate; more flexible and responsive support from international community needed to avoid collapse of civic space and worker organizing. BANGKOK, Thailand (ILO News) - The military takeover in Myanmar has taken a severe toll on trade unions and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) providing services to workers and migrants, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Riding out the storm: Organizational resilience of trade unions and civil society organizations following the military takeover in Myanmar details the severe impact of the February 2021 takeover on trade unions and CSOs. It highlights how the targeted persecution of these groups, including arbitrary arrests, detentions, acts of violence, raids on homes and offices, seizure of equipment, threatening phone calls, interrogations and surveillance, have substantially limited their ability to operate. Trade unions and CSOs reported being forced to make major adjustments to their work in response to the heightened safety and security concerns since the military takeover. “Trade unions and Civil Society Organizations have provided the foundation for much of the progress made on increasing labour rights protection in Myanmar over the last decade. The current state of affairs represents a genuine threat to their existence. The international community must stand with these organizations to help them survive and continue their vital work,” said Panudda Boonpala, ILO Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. The report recommends that the international community increases its flexibility and responsiveness to counter this existential threat to civic space and worker organizing in Myanmar. For more information please contact: Steve Needham Senior Communication Officer ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific E.: [email protected] M.: +66 83 606 6628..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organization via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2022-08-24
Date of entry/update: 2022-08-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
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Description: "ILO (Myanmar) launches eLearning Programme on child labour. YANGON (ILO News) - On the back of the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, ILO Myanmar has announced the upcoming release of a Myanmar eLearning Programme on Child Labour to enable stakeholders to take action against child labour. Delivered in Myanmar and English language, the nine-module interactive course is set to go live at the ILO’s digital learning platform on June 12, the World Day Against Child Labour. The course aims to equip civil society partners, social workers, employers and worker’s organizations to effectively assess and address cases of child labour within their communities. The modules consist of a live, instructor-led component and an ‘on-demand’ online component. It also provides participants with comprehensive information and tools to design interventions contributing to the elimination of child labour. “Economic challenges and school closures due to the Covid 19 pandemic, political and security crisis in Myanmar are exacerbating child labour in Myanmar. With millions of children at risk, capacity building and collective and timely responses have become even more critical,” said Mr Donglin Li, ILO Myanmar Liaison Officer/Representative. The role of social protection in the elimination of Child Labour The ILO and UNICEF at Headquarters launched a new report last week during the 5th Global Conference to Eliminate Child Labour that estimates that 60 million children – 1 in 10 worldwide – were in child labour at the beginning of 2020. Without effective action, that number could rise by 8.9 million by the end of 2022, due to higher poverty and increased vulnerability. Children in conflict areas without proper access to social protection are even more likely to become involved in work and less likely to get an education. According to another report launched last week by the ILO , the incidence of child labour in countries affected by armed conflict was 77 per cent higher than the global average, and the incidence of hazardous work was 50 per cent higher. Delegates at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour last week have already adopted the Durban Call to Action which outlines commitments in six different areas to end child labour, including strengthening the prevention and elimination of child labour, including its worst forms, and achieving universal access to social protection. If most countries put proper social protection measures in place, child labour can decline by 15 million by the end of 2022, thus allowing a significant improvement in sustainable development goals (SDG) 8.7. The ILO is the only tripartite United Nations agency devoted to promoting rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues. More information about the ILO’s work in Myanmar can be found at https://www.ilo.org/yangon ..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organization via United Nations Myanmar
2022-05-30
Date of entry/update: 2022-06-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "ILO launches International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour 2021 to encourage legislative and practical actions to eradicate child labour worldwide. This year, the International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the Alliance 8.7 global partnership, launched the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour 2021 to encourage legislative and practical actions to eradicate child labour worldwide. The ILO in Myanmar has been spearheading efforts with partners to implement action to ensure children are protected from child labour within the current constraints and challenges brought about by the military takeover as well as COVID-19. The ILO is providing direct services in three pilot areas including formal and non-formal education support for children, vocational training and life skills to youth, and livelihoods training for adults. In addition, more than 150 households have received management and skills training. The ILO’s SCORE Project also delivered Business Eye Opener training of trainers to be rolled out in remote villages to support youth and vulnerable families with starting small businesses using locally available resources. A key emergency response has also been supporting families in coping with the pressure of COVID-19 on their economic livelihoods, including awareness-raising and supporting seed funds to kickstart pilot initiatives during 2020 and 2021. The International Year was unanimously adopted in a UN General Assembly resolution in 2019. A main aim of the year is to urge governments to do what is necessary to achieve Target 8.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which includes ending child labour in all its forms by 2025." ILO Myanmar delivers three child labour projects: The Myanmar Project on the Elimination of Child Labour (My-PEC), funded by the US Department of Labour, Achieving Reduction of Child Labour in Support of Education: Programme to reduce the worst forms of child labour in agriculture, funded by the Government of Japan, and Asian Regional Child Labour Programme (ARC), funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK Government. *For more information, please contact Anne Boyd *[email protected] Written by Anne Boyd ILO Project Manager, LLR Project, ILO-NPT [email protected] + 95 9446441763..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organization via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-10-15
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Document GB.300/8 has reported on the application of the Supplementary Understanding (SU) signed between the ILO and the Government of Myanmar on 26 February 2007 up to the end of September 2007. As this addendum reports on the period from 1 October 2007, it also covers the period following the civil unrest. In particular, it attempts to assess the impact of recent events on the application of the SU. At the time of writing, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Myanmar, Mr Ibrahim Gambari, was still in the country addressing the issues raised by the international community. The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Mr Sergio Pinheiro, was due to arrive on 11 November 2007, following the Government of Myanmar’s agreeing to receive a visit from him prior to the ASEAN summit. As of 7 November 2007, 56 complaints had been recorded as received by the Liaison Officer. Four new cases have been received since the end of September. An updated copy of the register of cases will be made available to this session of the Governing Body. During the period 20 September to 10 October (the civil protest period) no complaints were received. It is probable that persons who have been involved in transmitting complaints have been discouraged, or detracted, by the public protest activity and the measures taken by the Government to counter the protests. The four new complaints that have been recently received are of a different nature than the previous general pattern. One is an allegation of forced labour directly resulting from the protest activities and concerns the authorities’ requirement for ready access to bus transport to meet their potential need for rapid deployment of personnel. One relates to an alleged breach of article 9 of the SU through the detention and harassment of persons involved in the making and facilitation of forced labour complaints. Two allegations concern the forced military recruitment of minors. These complaints have been assessed by the Liaison Officer, in the manner foreseen by the SU, and referred to the responsible Government Working Group for investigation and appropriate action. Their receipt has been acknowledged, and responses are duly awaited. The Liaison Officer has also recently..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organisation (ILO) - GB.300/8(Add.)
2007-11-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 27.85 KB
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Description: "This paper sets out to understand how trade liberalization particularly impacts employment in the Global South by looking at the case of Myanmar. The paper is divided into five succinct parts that contribute to analysing to what extent trade liberalization through out Myanmar’s economic and political changes. Based on the findings of this paper, there are five key areas that shed light on the linkages between trade and employment in Myanmar. These five areas include, (i) trade, structural transformation and employment, (ii) informality of the economy (iii) trade and global value chains integration (iv) productivity (v) and wages, income inequality and working conditions. The first section looks at the structural transformation of the economy, which is best described by Myanmar’s shift from an agrarian economy to an industrialized economy. Consequently, the shares of industry and services sector to total GDP have increased overtime but the growth in the agriculture sector is not strong as others due to constraints such as high production cost, low productivity, low quality products and lack of value chain integration. Moreover, data indicated how the garment sector experienced positive employment when export value of garment sector increased by threefold. Secondly, the significance of the informal sector is demonstrated in how it employed about 81.9 per cent of total labour force in 2017 and at least over 40 percent of Myanmar's imports from neighbouring country come through informal channels. The World Bank's enterprises survey data (2016) confirmed that informal firms in Myanmar have lower sales per worker (labour productivity) compared to firms in formal sector. Therefore, based on previous findings, it can be assumed that workers in formal sector in Myanmar, especially from export-oriented firms have gained more because of trade openness. Furthermore, there is a need to invest in job-friendly global value chains which can be primarily done through attracting FDI to diverse job-intensive sectors helping SMEs engage in GVCs is key to creating quality jobs. This shows that foreign capital is not automatically generating better working conditions and the host government play critical role in making sure better working environment and protecting venerable workers not to be exploited. Based on the facts and discussions, this study recommends a strong coordination among stakeholders and institutes with clear objectives to response present changing dynamics in trade context as well as social security provisions to make sure benefits go to workers as well..."
Creator/author: MIN ZAR NI LIN
Source/publisher: International Labour Organisation (ILO)
2018-08-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 612.68 KB
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Description: "Country baselines under the ILO Declaration Annual Review are based on the following elements to the extent they are available: governments’ reports, observations by employers’ and workers’ organizations, case studies prepared under the auspices of the country and the ILO, and observations/recommendations by the ILO Declaration Expert-Advisers and by the ILO Governing Body. For any further information on the realization of this principle and right in a given country, in relation with a ratified Convention or possible cases that have been submitted to the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association, please see: http://webfusion.ilo.org/public/db/standards/normes/libsynd..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organisation (ILO)
2018-05-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 249.44 KB
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Description: "Tourism is a key driver of socio-economic progress in Myanmar and it’s expected to provide over two million new jobs by 2020. In order to assist Myanmar in further developing the tourism sector and its workforce, the ILO launched the “Scaling up STED: Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification” project with a focus on tour guides. The ILO’s STED project facilitated cooperation among all stakeholders involved in the tourism sector and helped to create competency based standards for tourist guides..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organisation (ILO)
2017-05-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: GENEVA – In a historic move, delegates attending the International Labour Conference (ILC) have voted to lift all remaining ILO restrictions on Myanmar. The remaining restrictions, imposed by the Conference in 2000, included the need to discuss Myanmar?s application of the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29) at special sittings of the ILC, and a recommendation to ILO constituents to review their relations with the country. The ILC had already suspended some restrictions on Myanmar when it met last June. The ILO restrictions were initially introduced in 1999 and 2000. They were based on article 33 of the ILO Constitution, which the organization invoked for the first time in its history..."The restrictions were related to the country?s non compliance of the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29)..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organisation (ILO)
2013-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2014-07-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "On 18 December 2013, the Government of the Republic of Myanmar deposited with the International Labour Office the instrument of ratification of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182). Myanmar is the 178th ILO member State to ratify this instrument, which calls for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including slavery, trafficking, the use of children in armed conflict, the use of a child for prostitution, pornography and illicit activities (such as drug trafficking) as well as hazardous work..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organisation (ILO)
2013-12-19
Date of entry/update: 2014-07-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Burmese army personnel suspected of using forced labour will be prosecuted under civilian law, according to senior military chiefs who met with representatives from the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Rangoon last week. ?The Commander in Chief has given instruction that military personnel are similarly covered to all other persons by the law concerning forced labour,? said Steve Marshall during an interview with DVB. ?[He] indicated that persons alleged to have utilised forced labour will be prosecuted under the penal code rather than military regulations....."
Creator/author: Hanna Hindstrom
Source/publisher: Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB)
2012-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2012-05-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "A UN body tasked with pushing for workers? rights and an end to forced labour in Burma has been granted access to conflict zones in the country?s border regions that for years have been largely off-limits to international monitoring groups. The agreement means the International Labour Organization (ILO) becomes one of the first overseas bodies to begin sustained operations in the volatile areas where Burma?s government has been battling ethnic armies. To the surprise of many observers, the defence ministry, widely depicted as hostile to the nascent reform programme in Burma, has also endorsed the move, which comes amid a push by Naypyidaw to persuade rebels groups to sign ceasefires. Steve Marshall, head of the ILO office in Rangoon, says the ministry?s signature on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed in March is ?very positive and very telling?, particularly given that the ILO will be directly addressing abuses carried out by the army. He adds that not only will the defence ministry give the green light for the ILO?s work in conflict zones, but that it ?has agreed to be an active partner? in the application of plans laid down by the group..."
Creator/author: FRANCIS WADE
Source/publisher: Democratic Voice of Burma
2012-04-05
Date of entry/update: 2012-04-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Eine kontroverse Diskussion zur Wirksamkeit internationaler Sanktionen (UNO; USA; EU; ILO) in Burma/Myanmar nach den Aufständen von 1988; der Einfluss Aung San Suu Kyis; die Rolle westlicher NGOs; Fallstudien zu Burma/Myanmar, Sudan, Südafrika A study on the efficacity of intnernational sanctions after the protests of 1988; the influence of Aung San Suu Kyi; the role of western NGOs; case studies of Burma/Myanmar, Sudan, South Africa
Creator/author: Sina Schüssler
Source/publisher: Zentrum der Konfliktforschung der Philipps-Universität Marburg
2006-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2007-09-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: German, Deutsch
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Description: "Burma was on collision course in March with the one world organization that has the power to do real harm to Rangoon?s military regime. Days before the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization, or ILO, was slated to decide how to compel the regime to end its alleged widespread practice of forced labor, a senior government official in Rangoon told the organization in so many words: ?Mind your own business.? ...Scenes like this anger the ILO... The confrontational statement, by Rangoon?s Labor Department Director-General Soe Nyunt, was sure to fire anger at the ILO session in Geneva, where members of the Governing Body were considering how to react to Rangoon?s earlier displays of non-cooperation and open defiance..."
Creator/author: Jim Andrews
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 3
2005-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-08-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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