Denmark has a proven track-record of
successfully combining economic growth, high employment and social security and
so it is fitting that there government is pursuing an initiative help Myanmar
with its efforts to improve workplace health and safety.
On April
21, U Thein Swe, Union Minister of Labour, Immigration and Population of the
Republic of the Union of Myanmar welcomed Mr. Peter Lysholt Hansen, the
Ambassador of Denmark to Myanmar, in order to discuss future cooperation on
labour market issues.
Following
the meeting, the Union Minister and the Danish Ambassador announced that
Myanmar and Denmark will cooperate on an initiative aimed at ensuring safe and
healthy work places and improved social dialogue in Myanmar.
In the
following interview with Mizzima, the Danish Ambassador explains the importance
of the programme and why his government is involved.
Please could you tell us about the initiative
being pursued by the Danish government to work with Myanmar to help improve the
safety and health of workers in their workplace? How long has this been running
and what are the objectives?
The
overall goal of the new initiative is to contribute to the development of safer
and healthier working conditions and improvement of social dialogue in Myanmar
through the strengthening of labour market institutions.
More
specifically, the Danish support consists of capacity building activities in
two areas. The first of these is the area of occupational safety and health
where experts from the Danish Working Environment Agency (which is the Danish
government institution responsible for occupational safety and health in
Denmark) will be providing advice and technical training on occupational safety
and health to the staff at the Factories and General Labour Laws Inspection
Department (FGLLID, department under the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and
Population).
Basically,
this is about the workers of Myanmar being able to go to work without getting
sick, injured – or even dying.
The
second area of focus will be capacity building of representatives of the social
partners in Myanmar (workers’ and employers’ organizations). This training is
planned to be carried out by representatives from Danish workers’ and
employers’ organisations (peer-to-peer training).
Generally
the activities are scheduled to be launched around the beginning of September.
However, two weeks of pilot trainings for staff at the FGLLID have already been
carried out in September and October of 2015.
What do you see as the challenges to improving
workplace safety and health in Myanmar?
The good
news is that there is a strong commitment and eagerness to improve the
situation amongst the relevant Myanmar authorities. At the same time, workers
are increasingly getting aware of their right to safe and healthy working
conditions, and employers are starting to realize that good working conditions
can both increase productivity, as well
as that it might be a prerequisite for securing orders from large international
companies, e.g. in the garment industry.
It is
also helpful that the number of inspectors at the FGLLID has increased, and
that a new draft law on Occupational Safety and Health is awaiting
parliamentary scrutiny. It goes without saying that the situation will not
change overnight, but against this background there really is reason to be
optimistic.
What is the message your embassy is receiving
from Myanmar's new government on this issue?
It is
very positive. I met with U Thein Swe, Minister of Labour, Immigration and
Population on 21 April. From this meeting it was very clear that the government
prioritizes improving the situation of the workers in Myanmar and reforming the
labour market in order to foster sustainable economic growth, which will be
crucial in facilitating Myanmar’s reintegration into the World economy.
Are the existing workplace laws adequate? Are
there plans to change the laws?
As I
stated earlier, it is extremely positive that there is strong commitment to
labour market reform, because the task that lies ahead is considerable.
Positive changes have taken place in the legal framework within recent years.
However, attention has to be paid to whether these legal changes bring about
the desired results in practice or not, and further legal reforms are necessary
too. While legal reforms are a prerequisite for a modern and well-functioning
system of labour market governance, it’s no quick fix, though. The capacity of
the institutions responsible for implementing and enforcing the new laws will
have to be increased too.
In the
same vein, it will be equally important to ensure that the legislative process
is undertaken in a consultative manner and to further build the capacity of
labour market actors so that they are capable of engaging effectively in social
dialogue, which is in its very early stages in Myanmar. This is the rationale
behind the Danish support.
Concrete
steps have already been taken in planning further legislative reform. On
November 14, 2015, together with Myanmar, Denmark, the United States, Japan,
and the ILO launched the Initiative to Promote Fundamental Labour Rights and
Practices in Myanmar, which is intended to help modernize Myanmar’s labour
legislation, improve compliance with international labour standards, and foster
a robust dialogue between the government, business, labour and civil society.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The
importance of well-functioning social dialogue – understood as negotiation,
consultation or simply an exchange of information and views between representatives
of employers, workers and governments – really should not be underestimated.
Take the
Danish example. Denmark has a proven track-record of successfully combining
economic growth, high employment and social security. This success is
frequently attributed in large part to the particular institutional setup of
Danish labour market governance – which is characterized by a strong
cooperative spirit amongst the government, trade unions and the employers’
organizations.
The
Danish system was established as far back as in 1899 when a major industrial
dispute ended. The dispute ended only as the social partners recognised each
other and made an agreement about the rules on the labour market. A revised
version of this agreement is still valid today.
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