Introduction
The OSH legislative framework in Myanmar is
embodied in the Factories Act of 1951 and the Oilfield
(Labour and Welfare) Act of 1951. The primary OSH
regulator is the Factories and General Labour Laws
Inspection Department. Other agencies involved in
regulating the OSH standards include the Boiler and
Electric Inspection Division (Ministry of Industries);
Planning and Inspection Department (Ministry of
Mines); Occupational Health Division (Ministry of
Health); the Ministry of Construction; the Ministry
of Agriculture and Irrigation; and the Yangon City
Development Committee.
Myanmar faces a broad range of OSH challenges, as
indicated by the total number of work-related accidents
recorded from 1996 to 2008 (table 3).
One of the challenges is the need to coordinate efforts at
the national level. As well, the OSH capabilities among
the inspectors and the workforce need to be improved.
The expertise to develop engineering controls to ensure
the safe use of machines has to be improved. In addition,
with a total of 15,441 workplaces covered under the
Factories Act nationwide (as shown in table 4) and a
limited pool of inspectors, the regulatory approach needs
to be reviewed to ensure optimal allocation of resources.