− Bonuses were reportedly provided for regular attendance. • Leave: − Workers received one and a half days off per week. − Workers were able to take public holidays off with pay. − Workers did not receive paid sick leave or company-provided insurance. − Workers received 10 days unpaid annual leave. − Female workers were entitled to three months paid maternity leave at the basic salary band. Working Conditions and Provision of Facilities to Workers Human Rights Implicated: Right to an adequate standard of living; Right to just and favourable conditions of work; Right to non-discrimination Field Assessment Findings  Observed working conditions for fibre cable digging were particularly harsh: •   Workers had to dig long distances of trenches manually, without any mechanical digging or drilling equipment, even in mountainous and rocky areas. • As noted above, 12 hour work days were common practice. • Workers were expected to dig set distances each day, ranging from 2 – 10 metres each day per worker. • If a worker was injured, they had to repay any medical expenses covered by their company. • Language barriers were a commonly reported problem between managers and workers. Researchers heard that workers were often unsure whether any complaints or issues they raised were properly reported to the managers responsible. Little to no facilities or equipment were provided to fibre cable diggers: • Workers were not provided with any equipment such as shovels and pick axes and had to pay for their own tools or had the costs deducted from their salaries. • Workers were not provided drinking water and had to source their own, for example requesting from surrounding residents or boiling ground water. • Workers had to find or build their own accommodation with their own money, despite often being transported long distances from their homes for long periods of time in order to continue working on the lines. This usually consisted of make-shift tents from tarpaulins and sticks. Camp areas were commonly in nearby fields or off the side of the road and did not have any running water, power or adequate sanitation facilities. • Workers had to pay for all food and supplies while on the job, despite relocating far from home for long periods of time to undertake the work. − Workers were commonly required to buy food through the wife of the group labour leader, and several reports were received of charging workers prices far above market value for their food supplies. − Workers often had to similarly pay for other supplies: candles, blankets, mattresses, buckets of water to cook or shower with, and wood for cooking. Some fibre factory workers were provided with accommodation in permanent structures that were heated and had running water and electricity. • Workers’ families were allowed to stay with them. • Rooms were reportedly 10 square feet, though researchers were unable to visit them due to time constraints. CHAPTER 4.6: LABOUR 199 4 4.6