Government representatives have agreed with factory owners and workers to amend labour laws and review standard terms in employment contracts, according to the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Securities, The Global New Light of Myanmar reported on 29 September.
U Win Shein, the Director-General of the Factories and General Labour Law Inspection Department told the newspaper on Monday that all parties reached an agreement during the National Tripartite Dialogue Forum in Nay Pyi Taw on Friday.
The details of the amendments are yet to be decided, but the government has sought advice from labour organizations to make the changes aimed to better protect the rights of workers, said Eaindara Kyi Tin, Legal Department of the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM). There are weaknesses in Myanmar’s labour laws such as the Settlement of Labour Dispute Law, the Workers Compensation Act, and the 2012 Labour Organisation Law, she added.
The tripartite forum in Nay Pyi Taw also focused on solving current labour disputes through bipartite meetings between factory owners and representatives of workers’ unions first before meeting with the government.