What does the Occupational Safety and Health Law 2019 cover in Myanmar?
Myanmar's OSH Law 2019 covers all workplaces, requiring risk assessment, PPE provision, safety training, fire drills, first-aid kits, and accident reporting to MoLES within 24 hours of serious incidents. A safety committee with employee representation is mandatory at workplaces with 50 or more employees, with extended duties for factories, construction, mines, and other high-hazard industries.
What Myanmar law says
The Occupational Safety and Health Law 2019 ("OSH Law") covers all workplaces in Myanmar — factories, construction sites, mines, oil & gas installations, agricultural operations, offices, retail outlets, restaurants, hotels, and similar. Some duties are universal; others scale up with headcount or hazard. The law sits alongside the Factories Act 1951 for factories, with no double-counting — the more specific provision applies to factories.
OSH Law 2019 — what it covers
| Area | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Scope | All workplaces; factories, construction, mines, offices, retail |
| Risk assessment | Required for all hazardous operations |
| Personal protective equipment | Employer-provided; use enforced |
| Safety training | At hire + refresher cadence |
| Fire drills | Typically twice/year |
| First-aid kit | Mandatory at every workplace |
| Safety committee | ≥ 50 employees: composition incl. employee reps + safety officer |
| Accident reporting | Serious accidents (death, hospitalisation, permanent disability) → MoLES within 24 hours |
| Records | Accident register, training log, committee minutes, PPE log; retention ≥ 5 years |
| Penalties | Fines, remediation orders; repeat offences risk operating-licence action |
Edge cases
- Construction sites — site-safety officer, fall protection, scaffolding rules; bespoke notifications layered on top.
- Mining — sector-specific OSH duties under mining notifications.
- SME offices < 50 employees — no mandatory committee, but PPE, training, drills, first-aid, and accident reporting still apply.
- WFH workstations — duty of care extends; document via OSH home-workstation policy.
- Visitors and contractors — included in safe-workplace duty; document induction.
Records and inspections
The OSH inspectorate (under MoLES) inspects committee minutes, training rosters, PPE issuance log, accident register, and risk-assessment files. Township labour office handles accident report intake at first instance for many sectors. Retention ≥ 5 years for OSH records. Buyer audits in export sectors specifically demand recent training rosters and accident-investigation reports.
Employer takeaway
The OSH Law 2019 covers all Myanmar workplaces. Run risk assessments, provide PPE, train staff at hire and refresh, hold fire drills (typically twice a year), maintain a first-aid kit, and constitute a safety committee at 50+ employees. Report serious accidents to MoLES within 24 hours. Retain records for 5 years. Construction, mining, and high-hazard industries face additional sectoral duties.
Common mistakes
- Assuming OSH Law applies only to factories — it covers offices and retail too.
- Forgetting the safety committee threshold at 50 employees.
- Letting PPE issuance lapse — the issuance log is the audit evidence.
- Missing the 24-hour accident report when a worker is hospitalised.
Related reading: workplace safety law, first-aid kits mandatory, and law on workplace accidents.
- Occupational Safety and Health Law 2019 — Scope and core duties
- Compliance Calendar — Accident reporting deadlines
- Factories Act 1951 — Factory-specific overlay
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