Of the 2,500 people who worked on the Yadana pipeline project, nearly 2,200
(average per construction phase) were Myanmar nationals. All were adult,
voluntary contract workers. Approximately 350 expatriates were also involved in
the project.
Apart
from those recruited directly by Total, most of the local workers were
contracted by international or Myanmar companies employed as subcontractors
by Total, the operator. But the conditions under which they were employed
were defined
in detail in the subcontractor agreements and application of the relevant
clauses was periodically reviewed. The terms and conditions included :
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A signed, written contract for each person hired. |
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A free physical examination before hiring, ongoing medical and preventive
health care, and protection of employment in the event of sickness. |
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A minimum wage per job category that was substantially higher than
typical wages in the region, but that did not disrupt the local
economy. For example,
unskilled workers were paid around 200 kyats, or approximately US$1.50
per day in 1995, compared with an average of 100 kyats in the capital Yangon.
Skilled employees were paid higher rates. The wages scale was
regularly raised in line with local currency purchasing power
trends. |
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Safety training, safety equipment, safety procedures and safe working
conditions. |
The subcontractor agreements set employment targets to ensure that each
village in the region participated proportionally in the
project workforce. Each Village
Communication Committee submitted applications, and one-third of the project
workers, or around 700 people, were recruited from the villages.
It
is fairly unusual for such detailed employment terms to be specified
in subcontractor agreements. With the exception of safety rules and
compliance with
labor legislation, the operator usually allows subcontractors to define
their own terms of employment. But Total felt that a stringent detailed code was needed
to encourage project acceptance by villagers and to ensure that they
would benefit
from the outset of work.
Total monitored compliance with these requirements using a variety of
methods:
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All contract workers were provided with badges to gain access to the
site. |
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Pay slips provided by the subcontractors were checked regularly, in
particular to ensure that wages were being paid on time and were at least equal
to the minimum set per category. |
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Site physicians and teams responsible for safe working conditions maintained
a high profile and were able to intervene rapidly in the event of problems in
their areas of competency. |
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Site managers could also be informed of potential problems experienced
by local workers through the communication officers,
known locally as "Communication Ladies" who were responsible for
maintaining relations with the villages. |
