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Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Myanmar (RATIFICATION: 1955)

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of workers’ organizations to elect their officers freely. The Committee notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in relation to certain restrictions for eligibility to trade union office set out in the Rules to the Labour Organization Law (LOL), including the obligation to have been working in the same trade or activity for at least six months and the obligation for foreign workers to have met a residency requirement of five years. The Committee recalls in this regard that rules concerning eligibility based on a requirement to belong to an occupation should be more flexible either by admitting as candidates, persons who have previously been employed in the occupation concerned or by exempting from the occupational requirement a reasonable proportion of the officers of an organization. As regards foreign workers, the residency requirement for eligibility should be set at a reasonable period (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 102). The Committee notes the Government’s statement that efforts are being made, with the assistance of the Office, to review and amend the existing labour laws and requests it to provide information on the steps taken to review Rule 5 in consultation with the social partners and to indicate any steps taken for its modification in light of the indications above.

Furthermore, recalling its previous comments in relation to section 26 which sets a maximum for union dues, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any changes made in this regard following the review.

Right of workers’ organizations to freely organize their activities. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the concerns raised by the ITUC in relation to the requirement that a majority of workers vote for strike action to be undertaken and requested the Government to clarify that account would only be taken of the votes cast. The Committee trusts that, during the review of the LOL, the Government will take steps to clarify that this requirement concerns the majority only of those voting so that it does not excessively restrict the exercise of industrial action.

It further trusts that the Government will take into account in the review of the laws the importance of ensuring that workers’ organizations may carry out actions in protest of the economic and social policy of the Government, that sympathy action is protected in the event that the initial action is legitimate, and that the 500-yard picketing restriction is reduced so as not to render meaningless the impact of the industrial action.

Finally, recalling its previous comments concerning the requirement to obtain permission from the relevant labour federation under section 40(b) of the LOL in order to go on strike, the Committee requests the Government to take steps to amend this provision so that workers’ organizations may carry out their activities freely, subject only to the provisions of their own by-laws.