Wages Initially, Par Garment paid the legal minimum wage but did not pay the legal rate for overtime. As a result, the company had to resume paying wages in cash. The workers also succeeded in obtaining that they be paid the legal hourly rate for overtime. Workers at the new factories,however, were paid only the minimum wage, making clear that the real reasons behind expansion had been to avoid paying additional benefits to the workers. A large number of workers has been laid-off, gradually, since 1995.
Pay is based on piece rate, which makes it possible to pay workers less than the legal minimum wage.
They work longer hours, without the protection of labour laws, and live each day in uncertainty. The employer must inform the employees and the labour office before the day of closure. Since the basic wage is already low, it has been very hard for workers to survive. Now my elder brother has to bring rice from our field and some money to give to me because I haven't been working fully since May 1998. I can not even afford 200 baht for a bus to go home for this coming new year holiday.