"How Myanmar is Building a Labor Dispute Resolution System", 07 May 2017

As Myanmar works to find its niche in global supply chains, helping workers and employers resolve their differences through conciliation and arbitration will be an important component of effective industrial relations.

With support from the C&A Foundation, BSR’s new report, “Labor Disputes in Myanmar: From the Workplace to the Arbitration Council,” looks at how Myanmar’s dispute resolution process is working five years after its adoption. 

Below are the four steps Myanmar is following to build a labor dispute resolution process:

Step 1: Look for examples

Myanmar’s dispute resolution process is grounded in its 2012 Settlement of Labor Disputes Law, with a national-level Arbitration Council modeled in part after the one set up in Cambodia... 

Step 2: Create Opportunities for Resolution

If disputes arise, the resolution process begins with employer and worker representatives discussing and negotiating issues in the workplace coordinating committee (WCC). If unsuccessful, the dispute goes to a township conciliation body (TCB), where a tripartite panel of government, employer, and worker representatives attempts to help conciliate an agreement. If that is unsuccessful, they go on to a state or regional arbitration body (AB) for a hearing by a tripartite body. If either side is unsatisfied, the case can be brought to the national arbitration council (AC).

Step 3: Build in Transparency

Decisions at the AB and AC level are published online, creating an opportunity for labor organizations and other stakeholders to understand how the process works and what outcomes will likely occur, which can inform their own research and training. 

Step 4: Learn and Evolve

...There have been additional revisions and consultations with labor organizations, and employers need to understand how the labor dispute law can be improved. Many challenges remain, including the need for clear legal boundaries and scope, consistent and professional decision-making, fair selection of arbiters, effective enforcement, and more transparency efforts.