In an attempt to curb forced labor and the abuse of workers, a new law has been proposed at the most recent parliamentary session that would require housemaids and other workers to be registered prior to employment.
The proposal was put forward by Daw Aye Mya Mya Myo, the MP from Kyauktan township, located in the Yangon region.
Although laws meant to protect workers do exist, few employers actually observe them. As a result, there are often disputes between workers and employers.
“Upon employment, workers, including housemaids, will need to register with their NRC cards. Additionally, the concerned authorities will need to work together to ensure that these workers will be working in a safe environment,” said Daw Aye Mya Mya Myo.
U Aung Myint Shein, the MP from Mabane township in northern Shan State, highlighted the infamous AVA tailor shop maid abuse case and noted that there could be lots of similar cases occuring right now that no one knows about. He argued that in order to prevent future tragedies like the tailor shop incident from occurring, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, and Population would need to make an effort to enforce the registration of workers.
Daw Aye Mya Mya Myo pointed out that although the minimum wage laws that were enforced in 2013 also took housemaids into account, there are currently no labor laws specifically for housemaids. Additionally, despite the large number of domestic housemaid agencies in the country, none of them are actually registered businesses.
Due to a combination of employers failing to abide by current labor laws, workers not understanding their rights, and authorities failing to regularly inspect the working environments, the abuse of workers is a widespread and frequently occurring issue in Myanmar.
Many homes in Myanmar employ housemaids, and sadly, there are plenty of stories of employers exploiting and abusing their maids. However, since the AVA tailor shop incident, the government has been cracking down on the abuse of housemaids — particularly maids who are underage workers — to ensure that these happenings are brought to the attention of the proper authorities and that the perpetrators are appropriately punished.
