The Deputy Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Mr Greg Vines addressed the ILO Centenary Celebration Event and the 14th National Tripartite Dialogue Meeting in Myanmar.
YANGON (ILO News): The ILO Deputy Director-General, Mr. Greg Vines, delivered a keynote speech at the ILO Centenary celebration event held in Yangon, Myanmar on 21 October 2019. The event was jointly organized by the ILO and Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population (MOLIP), and attended by Government Officials, members of Parliament, Workers and Employers Representatives, Ambassadors, UN Agencies, Civil Society Organizations, ILO Network of Forced Labour Complaints Facilitators and media.
In his speech, Mr. Vines underscored the ongoing importance of the ILO’s mission, one hundred years since its establishment. “The ILO’s mission is anchored on the belief that social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace. As we celebrate our centenary, we strengthen our commitment to this mission with a declaration for the future of work that puts people at the heart of every economic, social and environmental policies,” he said. He further emphasized the important role trade unions and employers’ organizations play to support the government policy for promoting economic growth, social cohesion and ending forced labour.
The ILO Deputy Director-General also attended the 14th National Tripartite Dialogue Forum (NTDF) meeting sponsored by the ILO-EU project, attended by the representatives of the Government, Employers and Workers. Speaking at the meeting, he congratulated the NTDF members for their continued commitment to tripartite social dialogue for tackling critical issues relating to forced labour, child labour, freedom of association and labour law reform in Myanmar.
He acknowledged the progress made in past year to implement the DWCP in Myanmar, particularly with regard to the establishment of National Complaint Mechanism on forced labour. He said, “effective functioning of national complains mechanism on forced labour is the key area that ILO’s supervisory bodies continue to give priority to and the ILO stands ready to provide technical assistance needed to achieve that objective.”
In response, the Union Minister of Labour, Immigration and Population (MOLIP), H.E. U Thein Swe, acknowledged the ILO support in the process of labour law reform, addressing child labour and forced labour in the country and assured that Myanmar Government continues to commit to work toward eliminating unacceptable forms of works in Myanmar. MOLIP informed that the Labour Law reform remains in process, and the ILO technical support to ensure that Myanmar laws is in line with international standards is appreciated.
National Tripartite Dialogue Forum meetingIn the 14th NTDF meeting, the tripartite members discussed at length on progress under Myanmar DWCP (2018-2021), action plan to establish the National Complaints Mechanism, Labour Law Reform and Child Labour Hazardous List.
During a three-day visit in Myanmar, the ILO Deputy Director-General also held bilateral meetings with the Union Minister of MOLIP, Workers and Employers representatives. He met the UNCT in Myanmar and shared perspective on the ILO Centenary Declaration. In a separate session, he held talks with diplomatic corps focusing on the ILO roles in the current context in Myanmar.
