Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

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

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementing legislation – Scope of application. The Committee again requests the Government to specify the legal provisions regulating hours of work in those factories that are currently excluded from the scope of application of the Factories Act, that is, factories using power and employing less than ten workers and factories not using power and employing less than 20 workers. In addition, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the existing labour laws on hours of work and weekly rest are being reviewed and amended to fully comply with relevant ILO standards. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of the ongoing law reform process, and to transmit copies of any revised laws or regulations once they have been adopted.

Moreover, the Committee notes the comments of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) dated 31 August 2013 concerning the application of the Convention. The ITUC alleges that the Government has not yet taken action to address the concerns raised by the ILO Committee of Experts about provisions of the Factories Act, 1951, which may be in contravention of the Convention. More concretely, the ITUC indicates that, in August 2013, it interviewed workers from a dozen factories in the Hlaing Thar Yar industrial zone outside of Yangon and that the information so collected suggests that workers are frequently required to work far longer than the number of hours permitted legally. The Committee requests the Government to transmit any comments it may wish to make in response to the comments of the ITUC.