Human rights groups and a trade union federation have condemned the French oil group Total for settling out of court with a group of villagers who claimed they were used as forced labor in Burma.
The French-based International Federation for Human Rights and the League of Human Rights issued a joint statement Thursday accusing Total of buying its way out of legal action.
Eight villagers from Burma brought the case against the group in a French court, saying they were forced by the military to work on a gas pipeline construction project for Total in the 1990s.
Total says it will pay $12,000.00 to each of the eight villagers, who have agreed to drop the charges.
