By Mu Dra - Feb 05, 2025
The Military Council’s Ministry of Labour has announced that it is assisting returning migrant workers in securing employment based on their skills within Myanmar.
This announcement was included in the ministry’s January 2025 report on the implementation of recommendations from the U.S. government’s 2024 Anti- Human Trafficking Report.
According to the statement, the ministry is also coordinating the repatriation of Myanmar workers who were arrested in Thailand for various reasons. Committees have been formed at relevant border checkpoints to receive and process returnees. In January 2025, a total of 154 workers—127 men and 27 women—were officially repatriated.
Returning migrant workers can register at employment offices across 15 regions and states, including Naypyidaw, according to the ministry’s announcement. These employment offices will collect job orders from employers and match workers with suitable jobs based on their skills.
“The Ministry of Labour is now claiming they are helping returnees find jobs, but honestly, it sounds like a joke. I don’t know if they will really help or not. If they wanted to, they would have done so before. People go abroad for work because jobs are scarce in Myanmar and the political situation is unstable. Now they’re saying they will help us find jobs here? What kind of work will they offer? That’s a big question. I just returned from Dubai last month because of the age restrictions on overseas employment. It was already hard enough to come back, and now it’s even harder to leave again. I wouldn’t dare to register at those job centers—what if they use it as an excuse to forcibly conscript us into military service and call it a paid job?” said a male worker who recently returned from Dubai.
Returning migrant workers also expressed concerns that due to new age restrictions and travel bans, it has become increasingly difficult to leave the country again for work.
Additionally, there are growing public concerns that some Myanmar workers deported from neighboring countries are being forcibly assigned to military service by the Military Council.
