The Burma Campaign UK today condemned British American Tobacco (BAT) for giving out misleading information that exaggerated the level of the poverty wages paid to its factory workers in Burma by 86 percent.
When challenged by the Burma Campaign UK to verify the wages paid, BAT issued figures claiming that its lowest paid workers could earn a total of £30 per month (Kyat 52,941). The Burma Campaign UK has now forced BAT to confess that it had inflated the figures by over 86 per cent and that the actual amount is £16.10 (Kt 28,074) per month. Even then employees would have to work 24 hours overtime per week to earn what would only be sufficient to feed their families, but not to meet any other living costs. Sadly for these workers David Wilson from BAT’s Asia Pacific office has informed the Burma Campaign UK that “with the current economic crisis [in Burma] we have been forced to curtail the use of overtime.”
Also questionable is BAT’s system of calculating payment which includes a meal benefit that is more than the basic salary. By calling such payments ‘benefits’ and ‘allowances’ rather than including them as part of the basic salary, it would appear that BAT has given itself the option to withdraw these payments in particular circumstances.
Deputy Chairman of BAT Ken Clarke MP has also disputed claims by the Burma Campaign UK that basic salaries for the lowest paid factory workers in Burma are around 23p a day. In December Mr Clarke wrote to Vera Baird MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Burma saying that “the lowest paid factory worker earns almost six times more” than this. Mr Clarke has wittingly or unwittingly misled the Chair of the Parliamentary Group on Burma.
“BAT often claim the reason they are staying in Burma is that they don’t want to make their factory workers redundant”, said John Jackson, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “These salaries reveal one of the real reasons they want to stay in Burma – cheap labour.”
The Burma Campaign warned that regardless of what BAT paid its workers, its campaign would continue. “While we are unhappy that BAT misinformed us about how much they pay their workers, a key issue is how much they pay the dictatorship”, says John Jackson. “BAT refuse to say how much they pay the generals, but our estimates are that they have paid them 16 million dollars in taxes alone. This has to stop. We want BAT to give its workers an extremely generous redundancy package and get the hell out of there.”
BAT has come under increasing pressure regarding its factory in Burma – which is a joint venture with the military dictatorship. Its AGM last month was dominated by questions about its close relationship with the regime.
For more information contact John Jackson, Director, or Mark Farmaner, Media Officer, on 020 7281 7377
NOTES TO EDITORS
BAT misinformation on salaries
Original figures for average monthly salary of lowest paid factory worker sent by Brendan Brady – BAT’s Director of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs:
– salary: 7,878 kyat
– overtime: 30,000 kyat
– shift allowance: 3,850 kyat
– meal benefit: 9,900 kyat
– bonus: 1,313 kyat
Total 52,941 kyat
We questioned the overtime figure (kt 30,000), saying that workers on a six day week, working 44 hours per week, and doing 4 hours overtime per day on double the rate, could not earn that amount of overtime. They would have to work around 21 hours per day, 6 days a week to earn kt 30,000. After meeting BAT staff, they said that the figures were correct and that they would send the ‘maths’ to us to clarify things.
David Wilson – Area Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Manager Asia-Pacific, sent us ‘clarification’ – But all of the figures (for salary, shift allowance, meal benefit etc) were the same as Brady’s except for the overtime figure, which plummeted from Kt 30,000 to Kt 5,133 per month. Mr Wilson also said that the gross average monthly figure for the lowest paid worker totalled Kt 28,074 compared to Mr Brady’s figure of Kt 52,941.
BAT salary for lowest paid workers in pence
BAT exchange rate: £1 = Kyat 1,764.7
Basic monthly salary Kyat 7,878 = £4.46 (17p per day)*
Salary with benefits (no overtime) Kyat 22,941 = £12.99 (49p per day)
Monthly with benefits and overtime Kyat 28,074 = £15.90 (61p per day)
* based on 26 working days per month
The cost of living in Rangoon
According to a British Embassy 2002 Household survey, the average size of a family in Rangoon of 5.4 has an average monthly income of 57,816 Kyat – A lot higher than the country average, due to the higher concentration of wealthy people. Family expenditure to cover monthly food and basic living costs was 42,132 Kyat. (Covering only food was 28,000 Kyat)