News
Garment firms focus on social responsibility
Unions are welcome, and could help garment factories improve their corporate social responsibility functions, a leading manufacturer has said. U Aung Myo Hein, central executive committee member of Myanmar Garment Manufacturers’ Association, told The Myanmar Times that many factories in Myanmar had missed out on ...
Savings spare women from labor in Myanmar
Ma Nwe places a rock the size of a baseball at her feet, then tightens the string holding her bamboo hat in place. “I can’t risk it falling off,” she explained, squinting in the sun. “It’s only going to get hotter as the day goes ...
Companies to pay $2,000 a month to new university graduates
Some Vietnamese companies have confirmed they are willing to offer monthly pay of $2,000 to new university graduates. Le Quang Tien, former vice president of FPT, the Vietnamese largest information technology group, conducted a mini survey on salaries for new graduates after a debate about the ...
Myanmar to boost its Thai embassy staffing
Three additional labour attachés will be assigned to Myanmar’s embassy in Thailand next year, the labour minister announced on December 18. More labour officers are being assigned in order to handle the high volume of cases stemming from the large number of Myanmar migrants working there, ...
Authorities will legalise Lao workers in Thailand
Lao authorities expect to begin a new round of verifying nationality and legalising the status of thousands of Lao workers in Thailand in the coming months, Minister of Labour and Social Welfare said last week. Dr Khampheng Saysompheng told local media during his attendance to ...
Unions, government consult on new min wage law
The Ministry of Labour met with unions on December 16 to gather input on a universal minimum wage law currently being drafted, union representatives and ministry officials confirmed on December 18. “The meeting is a forum for each party to review the draft and provide comments ...
Women unite against entertainment industry abuse
Women from the entertainment industry have stood up to protest abuses and violence they suffer at work. A 16-day campaign by their union was launched on December 4, but officials say only five percent of women in the service industry are brave enough to speak ...
Ministry checking brick factories
The Ministry of Labor has established a working group to investigate the use of child labor at some brick-making factories to the north of the capital, but has yet to find a case about debt bondage and child labor as mentioned in a recent report ...
Minimum wage law still not cutting it for garment workers: report
A New report on the state of the garment industry from Progressive Voice found that last year’s minimum wage law is causing negative workplace impacts for a majority of labourers and, for many, is still not resulting in a living wage. The report, released on ...
Unions happy over labor protections
Union officials have applauded the Ministry of Labor which is preparing to ratify some International Labor Organization’s conventions, including two that unions, factory workers and domestic workers have long demanded. The Labor Ministry said on November 30 that to promote and protect the rights, benefits and ...