This workspace serves as a platform for technical staff from government and non-government institutions, worker and employer organizations, and other relevant stakeholders involved in the revision of social security legislation in Myanmar. Here participants may find information and documentation relevant to the activities organised by the ILO between 11- 29 May 2015 and in particular for the working sessions with the drafting unit of the Social Security Board of Myanmar and the tripartite workshop held in Yangon on 25-27 May 2015.

Background 

Social protection coverage in Myanmar is estimated to be very limited in terms of both legal and effective coverage. Social protection is composed of two main social security schemes for public and private sector workers in the formal economy and a series of small scale assistance programmes. Many emergency relief programmes continue running in some parts of the Myanmar territory as well.

The main social security scheme is directed at formal company workers, it came into effect in 1956 and it is managed by the Social Security Board under the authority of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. It provides income security to formal sector employees in the cases of sickness, maternity, death of the breadwinner, and employment injury. The scheme also provides free medical care to contributors in the Social Security Board’s healthcare facilities. It covers over 700,000 workers.

The ILO supports the Social Security Board in the improvement of its social security system. The Social Security Board informed the ILO in 2014 of its wish to revise the Social Security Law, 2012 with two objectives:

1. Improve the design of existing schemes in accordance with international best practices and so as to solve some of the implementation issues encountered since the implementation of the 5 existing schemes (i.e. April 2014). In this endeavour, the SSB is planning on developing amendments to the Social Security Law, 2012 and possibly submit some of them during the June 2015 Parliament session.
2. Revise the design of the inactive schemes in order to prepare their implementation (unemployment benefits, family benefits, survivor's benefits, invalidity benefits and old-age benefits).

To respond to this request and in the context of the ILO’s Social Protection Department of a how-to guide to provide assistance in social security legal drafting in accordance with international social security standards and best practices, the ILO will put at the disposal of the Social Security Board a social security legal specialist to support the drafting unit to formulate a detailed plan of action for the revision of Myanmar’s social security legislation and organise a tripartite workshop to share knowledge and experience for social security legal drafting processes and substance based on international standards and best practices. 

Objectives 

More specifically ILO support intends to provide:

Agenda

• Working Session with the Drafting Unit, Nay Pyi Taw | 12-14 and 18-20 May 2015
• Tripartite workshop on Social Security Legal Drafting, Yangon   | 25-27 May 2015

Resources

Participants can find all relevant documents (presentations, ILO standards, reports, group activities, etc...) under the different modules and resources on the right vertical menu.