DRAFT OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY LAW

[Vicky Bowman]

Please find the Burmese version of the draft Ocuupational Safety and health (OSH) Law as published in the Gazette and on the Parliament's website.  It will be considered once Parliament resumes on 18 May.  Unofficial translation (credit:  ILO) attached too.

The draft OSH Law is the first time that a law has been proposed that covers all sectors and activities.  It also reflects a change of approach and advocates a bipartite system where both employers and employees take ownership of occupational safety and health systems, while the government oversees the timely implementation of this process. The draft consists of three key provisions:

●     Creation of a national Occupational Safety and Health Council to coordinate with different parties responsible for occupational safety and health. This will facilitate tripartite discussions, after which decisions can be adopted at a national level.

●     Formation of workplace safety and health committees with equal numbers of employer and employee representatives. Such committees will be directly responsible for the implementation of national OSH policies at workplace.

●     Appointment of a workplace safety and health officer to provide technical support to employer and employee representatives.

 

In addition, the draft law states that the Union Government shall form a National Safety and Health Council consisting of qualified individuals from “respective union ministries, government departments and organisations, representatives of employers and workers, experts in occupational safety and health matters” (section 6 (a)).

Section 28 of the draft law highlights duties of employers, which include assessing the extent of hazard which machines or equipment used at the workplace could cause, providing safety suits to prevent accidents and injuries, and displaying safety instructions and notices at workplace among other things. Employers found guilty of violating their duties shall be punishable with imprisonment or fine, depending on the nature of violation, as specified under sections 55, 59, 60, 63 and 64. 

Vicky Bowman

Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business

[An V. Phan]

Thanks for sharing