THE Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population briefed experts from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and representatives of employers and employees about the National Complaints Mechanism (NCM) and pledged to protect those who blow the whistle on forced labour.

“After resolving complaints, the authorities will provide feedback to whistle-blowers and report the completion of cases to the national committee. The cases would be put on record systematically and information about the cases would be released to the international community with the permission of the national committee,” said Union Minister for Labour, Immigration and Population U Thein Swe.

He made the remarks at a workshop on effectively dealing with forced labour complaints under the National Complaints Mechanism. The workshop was held yesterday in Nay Pyi Taw.

The workshop was attended by representatives of the tripartite group formed by the government, employers, and employees; and, representatives from the International Labour Organization.

“To prevent retaliation to whistle-blowers and victims, the ministries concerned have been informed to keep facts confidential while resolving cases,” added the Union Minister.

To fight forced labour, representatives of the government, employers, and employees signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) (2018-2021) in September, 2018.

The project on elimination of forced labour was written in accordance with the DWCP, and the National Complaints Mechanism was launched on 3 February, 2020.

The significance of the National Complaints Mechanism is that representatives of employers and employees are involved in it, U Maung Maung, president of the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM) told the Global New Light of Myanmar after the workshop yesterday.

“We welcome the suggestion of the Amyotha Hluttaw’s committee on 5th February to oversee the National Complaints Mechanism,” he added.

“I am confident that we can eliminate forced labour in the country because the mechanism is comprised of the necessary stakeholders, such as employers, employees, the military, and the Ministry of Home Affairs,” said U Maung Maung.

GNLM

Photo: MNA

Ref: The Global New Light of Myanmar