Driving Responsible Recruitment in Asia
15-17 May, 2019, Yangon
15 May - Roundtable
Roundtable organizers
Link IHRB
Main organizer
Link MCRB
Local organizer
Link RLI
Co-organizer
Link CGF
Co-organizer
17 May -
Meeting with Government
Organizations in Myanmar
(responsible recruitment)
Link ILO
Work with Government
Link IOM
Work with Government
Link ISSARA
Work with brands & migrant workers
Office: Myanmar & Thailand & USA
CSO-NET
Work with migrant workers
16 May - Skill Development Training Center
(Pinlon Hall) - for migrant labour
CSO-NET
Providing:
- Job seekers outreach & education
- Remediation for exploited workers
- Networking and capacity building
Coordination with MOEAF & recruitment agencies on ethical recruitment
Network of 24 CSOs empowering job seekers & exploited returnees
CSO Network to end Human Trafficking
Experience:
- Employer already paid, but found later that worker needed to pay USD 1,000.
- Labor broker cheated USD 5,000 from worker, although factory already paid the fee.
- 700-1,000 USD for Burmese worker to Malaysia (3 years debt)
Direct Outreach, Migrant worker Helpline/Feedback (Language: Burmese, Khmer, Lao, Thai), Social Media & Messaging Platforms (FB, Viber, Line), Issara Golden Dreams Smartphone APP
Inclusive Labour Monitoring (ILM):
- Strategic partnerships with brands
- Empowered worker voice at scale through data & technology
- Ethical management of workers' issues & response to them
- Solutions: remediation & strengthening of business systems
- Continuous workplace monitoring & improvement
- Results for business, results for workers
Implementing Ethical Recruitment Program in Thailand & Malaysia
Issara Ethical Recruitment Program
Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Federation
Established 2013
270 Member Recruitment Agencies
200 signed on CoC (developed by ILO), 70 will sign it in June 2019, monitor by CCMC (Code Compliance and Monitoring Committee)
Working closely with IOM, and government - suggested to update law, 10 points, incl. allow for job advertisement, allow branch outside Yangon, etc.
Malaysia: stop sending workers temporarily
Thailand: On-going, with call-center service
Silver Tree Limited (Recruitment Agencies / Myanmar -> Japan/Malaysia):
- Malaysia - 3-6 months lead time, cost 1.5 mil. MMK so workers mostly took illegal route
- Recruitment agency cannot advertise job & open branch outside Yangon so workers were exploited by local broker, and advertisement in Facebook. Government will allow soon.
Ministry of Labour allows recruitment agency to charge worker at 150,000 MMK (fee & cost) in Myanmar & 3600 Baht (visa 500 Baht, work permit 1,000 Baht, health check 500 Baht, one year health insurance 1,600 Baht in Thailand). Under reviewing to increase it to 250,000 MMK in Myanmar
Workers to Thailand - survey:
- Irregular migrant - 33 days, cost 215 USD, 48% experienced problem
- Regular migrant - 114 days, cost 511 USD, 52% experienced problem
Exploitation by some brokers, recruitment agencies
Thailand:
- Amended Anti trafficking Act - labor exploitation
- Meeting with Labour Dept. - identification of forced labor
Meeting with Thailand & Myanmar Governments in May 2019
- Define regularize, extend permit, renewal, MOU, border, permitted ceiling fee, etc.
Border national action plan (protection of labor migration) - draft finalized
Working on International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS) implementation, pilot in Philippines, plan to implement in Bangladesh & Thailand, extended capacity building to recruitment agencies in Myanmar & Thailand
1 worker / 3 days training (2 times / week), 600 workers / class with 1 year certificate (NSSA - National Skill Standard Authority skill certificate)
Mandatory Pre-departure training
(Jordan, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Macau, UAE, Thailand, etc.)
- Separate room for Korea with air conditioner (funding by Korean Govt.)
Funding to the center by organizations, companies, e.g. GIZ, PTTEP, etc.
Topics: law, OSH, benefit, legal/illegal, financial management, preparation to leave, human trafficking, immigration, visa, bank/transfer money, etc.
- Accommodation in Yangon during training by recruitment agency
- Accept workers with agencies from MOEAF only or workers without agency
Skill training (no fee)
- Electrical skill, welding, Air Conditioner, etc.
Signing contract by worker, factory, recruitment agency, Labor Dept.
(2 training centers in Yangon, but signing contract here)
Workers to Thailand:
- 2 years contract (+ 2 years extension); 3 languages - Myanmar, Thai, English
- Sign contract here (1,000 workers / day), and go to Myawaddy (border) for identification card before going to Thailand
- No major challenge, only factory representative came here late due to delay flight
Process in this training center: pre-departure training, skill training, overseas worker identification card (OWIC), Smart card (with agency name), signing contract
Workers to Malaysia contract 2 years (+ 2 years extension + 1 year extension), cannot be pregnant
Second Five-Year National Plan of Action on The Management of International Labour Migration (2018-2022) was released in May 2019, developed with IOM
(2.4 - Recruitment fees for migrant workers are reduced through revised regulation & alternative recruitment mechanism, 2.4.2 - review current practices in developing & monitoring zero-fee policies in specific sectors)
Established Migrant Resource Center in Yangon in May, 2019
Inter-ministerial working group formed in 2017,
IOM as Co-Secretariat for taking care of migrant workers
There are issues for both internal & external migrants in Myanmar
Chairman: U Aung Htay Win / Deputy Director General -
Department of Labour Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population (MOLIP)
Signed G2G MOU for Anti-Human Trafficking with Thailand
Foreign Exchange Management Department
(Central Bank of Myanmar)
- No fee for remitting 3,000 USD to Myanmar by workers (all banks)
Suggestion to Government:
1) Simplify the recruitment process
2) More knowledge on recruitment process for workers
3) Transparency of recruitment cost
4) Alignment of business expectation with Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia