Labour rights groups have welcomed remarks by the Minister of Labour Aye Myint, who pledged to start implementing a ban on child labour by December after Parliament passed International Labour Organization Convention 182 on Worst Forms of Child Labor into law on Wednesday.
In December 2013, Myanmar’s Parliament ratified the ILO Convention, which calls for immediate action to prohibit and the eliminate the worst forms of child labour, including slavery, trafficking, the use of children in armed conflict, the use of a child for prostitution, pornography and illicit activities (such as drug trafficking) as well as hazardous work.
A lawmaker said the president sent Union Parliament speaker a letter asking him to pass the convention into law, adding that the Labor Minister gained Parliament’s official approval for implementation of the law on Wednesday.
Aye Myint told MPs, “We will prevent and take action on all worst forms of child labour and also arrange free basic education and rehabilitation for children,” according to a statement by the Federation of Trade Unions Myanmar (FTUM) released Thursday.
The minister added that the government would begin full implementation in December, one year after ratification of the ILO convention.