Local workers at Chinese gas pipelines’ compressor station in Yaynanchaung township in central Myanmar complaint that the company delayed their daily wages until end of months, and made them to work on public holidays.

The pipelines, which will discharge oil and natural gas mainly from Shwe Gas Project, connect Rakhine State in Western Myanmar and Yunnan province in China.

China Petroleum Pipeline (CPP) is setting up compressor stations along the pipelines which cross Yaynanchaung township in Magaway region.

CPP started construction of Yaynanchaung compressor station near Yinmachaung village in January last year, and will complete the project by coming September. It has employed about 40 permanent workers and scores of labourers.

Local employees at the project site said they always have to try to please Chinese managers at work, as they usually force one to resign when they unlike him or her. Daily wages are paid only at the end of months, and sometimes later than that, they said.

“We don’t get any benefits except our salary. They don’t also provide hard hats or boots to be used at project site. When a labourer works one day or so, he cannot get his wage immediately, but have to wait until the end of month. [Labourers] are working here as they have no other job. But they find many troubles as they have to rely on daily wages to buy food,” an employee at the station said.

Although the company claimed they have arranged insurance for their workers on site, their workers’ names were not on the list of insured workers announced by the government authorities in capital Nay Pyi Taw.

The workers also said they have to work also on the public holidays. A permanent employee gets around 90,000 to 100,000 kyats (US$110) as monthly salary at the compressor station. A labourer gets around 2,500 to 3,000 kyats (US$3) as daily wage there.