CNI News
2 Feb 2023
To defend the rights of Myanmar migrants who are working abroad through agencies, the Ministry of Labour will hold talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs to issue passports for them, Permanent Secretary U Nyunt Win of the Labour Ministry told the CNI.
He added that the ministry was exerting efforts to defend the rights of workers at its best.
He said, "The ministry is reviewing the overseas employment agencies which have been blacklisted in cooperation with the Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Federation. If they are found to have committed minor offences, we will appeal for them to the Ministry of Home Affairs so that Myanmar migrants who were trying to go abroad with the help of them do not lose their rights and costs they incurred. We are working as much as we can so that workers will not lose their rights."
Currently, the ministry has submitted to the home ministry the list of workers who will apply for passports to work abroad through agencies except 133 agencies which were blacklisted by the home ministry.
Among the workers are those who go abroad to work under the MOU between the two countries as well as those who are trying to work abroad through agencies.
Although it is still difficult to say when the passports will be issued, the home ministry will issue passports for them after processing the application forms, the labour ministry said.
People waiting to apply for passports.
The issuance of passports in all passport offices in the entire country has been suspended for an unlimited period since the end of 2022.
Suspension of passport issuance could force workers who intended to work legally to choose illegal means to go abroad, Executive Director U Htoo Chit of the Foundation for Education and Development told the CNI.
He added that suspension of passport issuance for an unlimited period is something that no country should do.
U Htoo Chit said, "No government should suspend passport issuance for an unlimited period because it amounts to forcing workers to go abroad illegally. No government should take such measures. Instead of helping workers who are trying to go abroad, authorities are causing delays and forcing them to incur high costs to get passports, which is a right of citizens. They are doing what they should not do by controlling passports of citizens and causing delays. They will not be able to do that for a long time and will have to issue passports one day."
He added that a government should take proper measures to help workers to go abroad, U Htoo Chit added.
Social media posts said that passport issuance would resume at the end of January but passport offices have not reopened so far.
Some observers suggested that closing the passport offices for an unlimited period was due to introducing new systems, political and security issues and brain drain problems.
