Union Minister for Labour, Immigration and Population U Thein Swe attended the 3rd Labour Ministerial Conference on labour cooperation among the five CLMTV countries, which was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, yesterday.

The event was organized under the theme of ‘Toward the Protection of Migrant Workers in the CLMTV Countries: Cooperation in Social Security’.

With the opening speech delivered by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, the event was attended by the labour ministries from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam, as well as the representative from ASEAN Secretariat.

Cambodian Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Ith Sam Heng presided over the meeting where Union Minister U Thein Swe and labour ministers from Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam delivered speeches.

The conference agreed on the endorsement of the Siem Reap Declaration on Roadmap toward the Labour Ministerial Declaration on the Portability of Social Security Schemes in the CLMTV countries, and the joint statement of Labour Ministers on the outcomes of the 3rd Labour Ministerial Conference.

On 16 September, the 5th Senior Labour Officials meeting was attended by Myanmar delegation led by the Director-General of Labour Department. The delegates from CLMTV countries discussed the portability of social security schemes.

The 2nd CLMTV Ministerial Conference on Labour Cooperation was held on 1 and 2 August in 2017, under the theme of “Promoting human resource development and decent work for migrant workers.” At the conclusion of the meeting, the CLMTV ministers endorsed a joint declaration on migrant labour safety.

With this declaration, the ministers affirmed the nine commitments to further promote regional cooperation in order to better manage migration labour through a number of priority areas for the 2018-2020 period, including social security mobility; pre-departure training and mobility of skills recognition; fair recruitment and guidance from the International Labour Organisation; standard labour contracts; and the welfare fund.

During the visit in Cambodia, Union Minister U Thein Swe held discussions with Cambodian Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Ith Sam Heng about closer collaboration in labour affairs. — MNA (Translated by Aung Khin)