YANGON (ILO News) The Forum brought together representatives of the Myanmar government, employers, workers, civil society and international partners. It provided an opportunity to explore how the decent work agenda including labour law reform can support sustained economic growth and social justice.

“This Forum comes at a particularly important time as Myanmar continues a process of economic transformation and opens up to the world. Decent work and sound labour laws that are consistent with international labour standards support a stable and predictable investment and trading environment that benefits the government, employers and workers alike” - Deputy Director General of the ILO, Mr Greg Vines said.

The event is also supported by the Labour Rights Initiative which was established in 2014 comprising the United States, Japan, Denmark and the International Labour Organization (ILO) in November, 2014. The European Union joined in 2015.

The Initiative is designed to support the Government and stakeholders in promoting compliance with international labour standards and responsible business practices, helping to make Myanmar an attractive sourcing and investment destination, protecting Myanmar’s workers and supporting its businesses, and advancing Myanmar’s overall sustainable growth and development” stated

The Forum brought together participants from the Government of Myanmar, Parliamentarians, members of conciliation and arbitration bodies, foreign Governments, the private sector, labour organizations and representatives, civil society, international investors and buyers, research institutions and international organizations.

The Forum explored a range of topics including labour law reform and progress as part of the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) signed in 2018, developments in Occupational Safety and Health, promoting workplace equality through labour regulation, minimum wage setting mechanisms, dispute resolution processes as well as the role of tripartite social dialogue in industrial relations.