The right to form labour unions

This post presents a recent article from The Irrawaddy on legislation legalising the formation of labour unions in Myanmar.

Vocabulary

တင်သွင်း ။ submit, propose, introduce
မူကြမ်း ။ draft
အတည်ပြု ။ to confirm
ဘက်လိုက် ။ to be biased, partial
ပြည့်နှက် ။ many; crowded; teeming with
နစ်နာ ။ to suffer, feel aggrieved
သုံးသပ်ချက် ။ consideration
ထင်မြင် ။ to think, believe
ဖြစ်ထွန်း ။ to benefit, thrive, succeed

Translation

Labour unions will get the right to form

Lin Thant, Wednesday, 31 August, 2011

Those working on workers issues cautiously welcomed the confirmation on Sunday that during discussion in the People's Parliament Labour Minister U Aung Kyi submitted draft legislation on the right to form labour unions.

"In the past, this kind of right to form a labour union did not exist. Now, I welcome having the right to do it according to law. However, it is necessary that when labour unions are formed they are independent and dependable labour unions and not like the unions formed by the government during the BSPP era," Ko Hein Lat who was been working for the emergence of labour unions told The Irrawaddy.

According to the law that has been confirmed, labour unions will have the right to make demands and express desires. It is known that, advanced notice will have to be given to those responsible for security in order to strike in designated areas during designated times.

Presently, only labour unions that the government has arranged have formed and there are many biases while resolving labour-employer conflicts. There is no right for independent unions to form and there is no right to strike.

"If it's more than in the past, then I'll really be pleased with the legislation now being promulgated. However, we'll have to wait and see how much this law will be able to protect workers issues in practice," said Ko Hein Lat.

In Myanmar, the main issue of the unceasing emergence of problems related to labour issues is that there is no legal right to form independent labour unions that can defend workers issues.

"If we speak of labour issues, we mean doing the entire political opposition.
Really, whether government civil servants or workers in the private sector, [workers] must understand their rights and responsibilities and have the right to express grievances about their labour rights," said Ko Maung Soe from Yangon who is working on labour issues.

Lawyer Ko Poe Phyu told The Irrawaddy that because over 70 per cent of Myanmar's population are farmers there is a need to bring about the emergence of unions for them.

"We welcome the fact that laws like these now are coming to be. However, since the Information [Ministry] has not yet published the legislation, we still do not yet know about the opportunities that will be possible according to the law's characteristics and the legal means, and so we still cannot give an assessment [of it]," said Ko Poe Phyu.

He continued, [saying], that he thought that after they had repeatedly made submissions to form workers and farmers associations since 2006, they had succeeded now with the authorities carrying out [this legislation] together with organisations like the ILO.

There is also a need to bring out a law for students like the confirmed legislation relating to the right to form workers associations, said Ko Thi of the Yangon-based All Burma Federation of Students Unions.

"The right to form a labour union to protect workers' issues is good. Similarly, we want to demand a legal student union that will be able to protect and advocate for student affairs," he said.