Improving labour relations for decent work and sustainable development in the Myanmar garment industry

This project aims to contribute to the reduction of poverty and the empowerment of women in Myanmar by improving labour relations, social dialogue and gender equality in the garment industry. Coming out of decades of military rule and isolation, Myanmar is yet to develop an adequate legal and institutional framework for sound labour market governance. The ILO and the tripartite partners are currently working towards the development of such a framework, but workers, employers and their organizations can take immediate action to address common concerns around wages and working conditions through social dialogue. In the particular case of the garment industry, it is imperative that women workers are able to participate fully in this process. Recent survey research indicates that the proportion of women among workers employed in the Myanmar garment industry is over 90%. The same research suggests that almost 80% of these women are under the age of 34. While the rapid growth of the garment sector represents an unprecedented opportunity for women’s economic empowerment and the reduction of poverty, making the most of this opportunity demands that the particular concerns of women workers be addressed. To ensure that this is the case, it must be possible for women to articulate these concerns and to take action to ensure that they are met. This will involve addressing certain direct and indirect obstacles to women’s involvement in representative structures. Given the importance of needs related to the reproductive and family role of women workers, indirect obstacles to their involvement in this case include inadequate access to health education. The project aims (1) to assist employers and workers in selected enterprises to build sound labour relations practices, including collective bargaining, through training programmes with a particular focus on identifying and overcoming barriers to women’s participation in social dialogue; (2) to deliver a health education programme targeted at women workers; and (3) to support employers’ and workers’ organizations at sectoral level in developing practices of bi-partite social dialogue through capacity building for each party at sectoral level, again with a focus on gender issues that reflects the specificities of the sector.

Project symbol

MMR/16/01/MUL

Admin unit

ILO-Yangon

Start date

01/07/2016

End date

31/05/2020

Total allocation

2463658

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

2449543

Development Partners

Multi-donor funding SIDA and H&M

Country/Countries

Myanmar

Outcomes

Outcome 1: Strong tripartite constituents and influential and inclusive social dialogue