Myanmar's transition towards a more open and market-oriented economy is accelerating the mobility of workers between employment sectors and geographic locations. Myanmar’s economic growth has brought with it improved prospects for women and men to find better remunerated work within the labour market, including for a growing number of workers who are pursuing employment abroad.
Myanmar is a country on the move, with an estimated 9.39 million internal migrants and 4.25 million international migrants, representing a quarter of the country’s population. A lack of sufficient employment opportunities at home and the promise of higher wages at destination are key motivations for people to migrate, particularly for populations in rural and conflict-affected areas.
As Myanmar’s economy rapidly transforms, skills development to support sectoral mobility within Myanmar’s labour market has become essential for enabling the country to maintain its growth trajectory. Strengthening the skills of the workforce is critical for improving labour productivity and helping the country find entry into higher value-added sectors.
However, the rapid changes to the nature of employment in Myanmar have also brought significant challenges in ensuring conditions of decent work. Primarily due to the structural vulnerability of poor and marginalised populations, labour exploitation continues to occur within public and private sector enterprises. The heavily-gendered division of labour poses a particular impediment to women’s empowerment.
To respond to these critical obstacles to sustainable and inclusive social and economic development in Myanmar, the Decent Work and Labour Mobility Programme was established as a core thematic area within the LIFT Strategy 2019-2023. Under the framework of this programme, the protection of fundamental labour rights will be the cornerstone for building a foundation for decent work in Myanmar.
