• Burmese
Friday, July 11, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Politics

Lawmakers Address Challenges in Preventing Worker Abuse, Exploitation

Tin Htet Paing by Tin Htet Paing
November 23, 2016
in Politics
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
A boy selling newspapers in Rangoon on January 14, 2013. / Minzayar / Reuters

A boy selling newspapers in Rangoon on January 14, 2013. / Minzayar / Reuters

7.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — Burma’s Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday discussed a proposal urging the government to enforce existing labor regulations in order to prevent the exploitation and abuse of domestic and child workers.

National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker Daw Aye Mya Mya Myo of Rangoon’s Kyauktan constituency submitted the parliamentary proposal last week, stating that employers should only recruit workers who have labor registration. Her proposal also highlighted instances of underage forced labor and domestic enslavement in the country.

The move was driven by recent high-profile abuse cases highlighting the abuse of domestic workers, including that of two enslaved teenaged housemaids in the Ava tailor shop in downtown Rangoon.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar, Thailand Ramp Up Cooperation on Border Issues

Myanmar, Thailand Ramp Up Cooperation on Border Issues

July 4, 2025
1.6k
Indonesian Influencer Given 7-Year Myanmar Prison Sentence

Indonesian Influencer Given 7-Year Myanmar Prison Sentence

July 3, 2025
1.3k
The San Francisco Pride Board of Directors contingent

‘Queer Joy Is Resistance’: San Francisco’s Pride Parade

July 1, 2025
221

While Burma does not have a specific law protecting domestic workers, there are several laws which impose regulations regarding labor and employment policy, including the Employment Restriction Act from 1959, the 2011 Labor Organization Law, and the Social Security Law and Minimum Wage Law, from 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Lawmaker U Maung Myint, representing Mingin Township, took the floor of the Parliament in support of the proposal. He said that the government should “carefully” regulate restrictions on employing workers with no labor registration, acknowledging that it is not yet possible to eliminate child labor Burma.

“There would be a lot of workers who would become jobless if employers must stop recruiting workers with no labor registration,” he said, citing the fact that such registration is only entitled to workers who have reached the minimum age of eighteen. Many parents allow their minor children to work due to tough family financial situations, he added.

However, U Maung Myint encouraged the government to enact a more specific law that would prevent abuse and torture perpetrated against workers by their employers. While strong employment relationships and trust remain key to a healthy working environment, he explained that only the enforcement of regulations can bring about fair and substantial improvement to working conditions.

“Unlawful acts against workers are evidence that there is no mutual respect and trust between employers and employees,” he said.

According Burma’s 2014 census, the employment rate of the country’s working-age population of nearly 33 million people aged 15-64 is 64.4 percent—over 21 million. Additionally, one in five children in Burma aged 10-17 goes to work instead of school according to the country’s census report on employment published in March 2016.

Lawmaker Daw Mya Khwar Nyo Oo from Bago Division’s Shwe Taung Township expanded the discussion by saying that most workers lack awareness of the existing labor laws, which resulted in exploitation by their employers.

Many workers migrate from rural areas to cities in order to seek job opportunities and they are not aware of their legal rights. Many others may endure exploitative conditions even though they are aware they are being mistreated, due to job scarcity.

Employment contracts and an assessment of workplaces should be carried out, Daw Mya Khwar Nyo Oo suggested, adding that awareness raising campaigns for labor rights also plays an important role in tackling abuses, she added.

A total of six lawmakers discussed the proposal and all urged the government to strictly enforce existing labor laws, to assess if employers follow such rules, and to make sure inspectors who assess workplaces do not submit to corruption or bribery.

Minister of Labor, Immigration and Population U Thein Swe admitted in the Parliament that his ministry had difficulty handling official registration for domestic and underage workers although it provides labor registration for workers aged 18 and up through 78 branch offices across the country.

“This weakness exists due to the practice of hiring domestic workers, which directly happens between recruiters and workers,” he responded. “Or some people hire their minor relatives as housemaids by giving them salary and letting them stay with them.”

Such practices make it challenging for officials to inspect households and to check of domestic workers have standard working hours and are provided legal rights, he explained. The minister, however, also acknowledged that there is no specific law for domestic workers so far and that such a law needs to be enacted.

Although the Minimum Wage Law was enacted in 2013, the National Minimum Wage Determination Committee announced in June 2015 that the minimum daily payment for one day’s work was 3,600 kyats (US$2.75), calculated at a rate of 450 kyats ($0.35) per hour for an eight-hour workday.

Lower House speaker U Win Myint concluded the discussion by pointing out that the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population had been trying to tackle the issues at hand and that the proposal should be documented in the parliamentary discussion report.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: CrimeHuman RightsLabor IssuesParliament
Tin Htet Paing

Tin Htet Paing

...

Similar Picks:

Myanmar’s BGF: A Family-Run Criminal Enterprise With Friends Across Asia
Burma

Myanmar’s BGF: A Family-Run Criminal Enterprise With Friends Across Asia

by The Irrawaddy
May 22, 2024
37.5k

A new report by JFM spotlights the organized crime empire of junta-allied Karen warlord Saw Chit Thu and his family,...

Read moreDetails
Notorious Myanmar Arms Broker Convicted of Cash Smuggling in Singapore 
Burma

Notorious Myanmar Arms Broker Convicted of Cash Smuggling in Singapore 

by The Irrawaddy
January 8, 2024
28.8k

US-sanctioned Kyaw Min Oo and two accomplices were caught at Changi airport with over half a million dollars.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Detains Generals Who Surrendered to Resistance in Laukkai
Burma

Myanmar Junta Detains Generals Who Surrendered to Resistance in Laukkai

by The Irrawaddy
January 8, 2024
24k

The detention of the six brigadier generals is required under the military’s rules following last week’s surrender to the MNDAA,...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption
Junta Cronies

Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
October 18, 2023
15.9k

Regime cronies Thein Win Zaw and Mu Mu Shein are set to follow former lieutenant general Moe Myint Tun as...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Karen BGF Launches ‘Scam Crackdown’ After Chinese Celebs Abducted
Burma

Myanmar’s Karen BGF Launches ‘Scam Crackdown’ After Chinese Celebs Abducted

by Maung Kavi
January 16, 2025
14.9k

Junta-affiliated militia overseeing notorious transnational crime hub issues ‘clean-up’ message to Chinese tycoons in Myawaddy.  

Read moreDetails
Singapore Called On to Stop Feeding Myanmar Junta’s War Machine
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Singapore Called On to Stop Feeding Myanmar Junta’s War Machine

by The Irrawaddy
August 24, 2023
10.2k

Over 200 civil society organizations demand that city-state block regime’s access to arms, dual-use goods, technology and funds.

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Nang Kham Noung, Nang Mo Hom and Nang Lang Kham, the daughters of the KBZ Group of Companies chairman U Aung Ko Win, at a charity event in Rangoon in May. / J Paing / The Irrawaddy

Singaporean Institute Surveys Family-Based Firms in Burma

Eleven Media Group chief editor U Wai Phyo charged under Article 66(d) arrives at Rangoon’s Tamwe Township Police Station on Nov. 11. / J Paing / The Irrawaddy

The Worrying Trend of Article 66(d)

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

2 days ago
908
‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

2 days ago
895

Most Read

  • Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Deploying Conscripts in Major Push to Reclaim Lost Territory

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Two Prominent Myanmar Ex-Political Prisoners Die Hours Apart in Yangon

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Junta Bombing of Resistance-Held Areas in Mandalay, Karenni Kills Seven Civilians

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.