Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) - Myanmar (Ratification: 1921)

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes that, under the terms of section 2(m), the Factories Act, 1951, only applies to premises whereon ten or more workers are working with the aid of power, or whereon 20 workers are working without the aid of power. It requests the Government to provide copies of the legal provisions that are currently in force governing working time (hours of work and rest periods) in factories in which the number of workers is below these thresholds. The Government is also requested to provide a copy of the Oil Fields (Labour and Welfare) Act, 1951, to which it refers in its report. The Committee further notes that the Myanmar Mines Law, 1994, also referred to by the Government in its report, provides in section 13 that the holder of an operation permit shall comply with the rules prescribed under this Law in respect of, among other matters, hours of work. It requests the Government to indicate whether provisions regulating hours of work in mines have been adopted under section 39 of the Myanmar Mines Law and, if so, to provide copies. Finally, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the Convention also applies to undertakings engaged in the generation, transformation and transmission of electricity or motive power of any kind (Article 1(1)(b), of the Convention); construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair, alteration or demolition of any building, railway, tramway, harbour, canal, road, telephonic installation, electrical undertaking, gas work, water work (Article 1(1)(c)); and to the transport of passengers or goods by road or rail (Article 1(1)(d)). It requests the Government to provide copies of the legal provisions in force governing working time (hours of work and rest periods) in these various categories of undertakings.

The Committee also notes the Government’s indications that, on the one hand, the new State Constitution contains provisions on hours of work, weekly rest and holidays and, on the other, that the process of reviewing the labour legislation has started. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of the progress made in the process of reviewing the labour legislation.

Article 6. Permanent and temporary exceptions. The Committee notes that section 70(2) of the Factories Act envisages the adoption of orders exempting certain categories of workers from the provisions on daily and weekly hours of work. It also notes that section 71(2) of the Act allows the exemption of any or all of the adult workers in any factory, group or class of factories from these provisions to enable the factory or factories to deal with exceptional pressure of work. It notes that in both cases the maximum limits of hours of work have to be determined and that overtime hours have to be paid at the rate of twice the ordinary rate of wages. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of any orders that have been adopted under section 70(2) of the Factories Act. It would also be grateful if the Government would provide the statistical data available to it on the number of exceptions granted under section 71(2) of the Factories Act, the number of workers concerned, the maximum hours of work applicable in these cases and the periods during which these exceptions are applied.

Part VI of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the number of inspections and the resulting benefits for the workers concerned. It requests the Government to continue providing general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice including, for instance, extracts from reports of the inspection services and, if such statistics are available, information concerning the number of workers in the industrial sector protected by the relevant legislation, the number and nature of the contraventions reported and the measures taken to resolve them.