Aug 14, 2008 (DVB), Bogalay residents have complained that the Htoo trading company, which was engaged in redevelopment projects in the area, has pulled out after two months without paying local workers for their labour.

Htoo trading is owned by Tay Za, a Burmese tycoon with close links to the ruling junta.

Residents said the company had stopped the project because it was not profitable.

"The Htoo trading used labour from daily paid workers in Bogalay to rebuild houses destroyed by the cyclone," a resident said.

"But after two months, they decided the project was not going to make profit and they abandoned it without settling payments for the labour."

The Bogalay resident said the workers had agreed a price for their labour at the outset of the project.

"They owed some people up to about 4-500,000 kyat , it’s not a small amount of money," he said.

"Carpenters in our town worked for Htoo trading after agreeing a payment of around 5000 kyat a day and now they are waiting for them to come back."

Htoo trading used Bogalay workers to build houses in the Kyein Chaung Gyi village area, which were sold to locals for 1.5 million kyat to be paid in installments.

Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet