Category Archives: Cambodia

Update // Cambodian garment workers battle for wage hike

A worker’s sign demanding $160/month minimum wages | Image taken at a rally by Mu Sochua, a Cambodian opposition party MP [click the photo to go to her blog].

Last week, Mary reported on the violent protests in Cambodia which included garment workers who have been demonstrating against a proposed minimum wage increase to US$100/month. The workers have asked for US$160/month which still falls short of the living wage proposed by the Asia Floor Wage Alliance [see the report entitled Latest Asia Floor Wage figure in Local Country Currencies (2012)] of KHR 1178814.60/month which is equivalent to something between US$283-294/month, depending on the exchange rate.

It is important to add that these demonstrations are not limited to wage issues. As I wrote on January 4th on the SA facebook page:

“Keep in mind that this is not just about wages but also stems from a complicated alliance between the numerous unions & the opposition party to challenge Hun Sen’s 28-year rule. This is part of an ongoing movement kickstarted by the July 2013 election which the opposition believes was rigged. They have since boycotted parliament, calling for new elections in daily rallies in Phnom Penh. And in the middle of all this politics is the fashion supply chain.“

For a bit more on the background to these protests, listen to the following conversation from the CBC’s As it happens (Jan. 3rd):


Here are some updates specific to the garment industry angle of this story:

  • The protests continued over the week culminating in 5 deaths and around 40 injuries when authorities opened fire. Meanwhile, the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) estimates sales losses of US$200 million and project a 30 per cent drop in orders in 2014 due to the protests. GMAC, in a press conference, condoned the military police’s reaction to protesters, and blamed striking workers for all deaths which were described as “collateral damage”.
  • Today’s news reports (see also here) confirm that the protests are suspended (for now) as unions advised workers to go back to work. Union leaders plan a meeting to regroup and rethink their protest strategy.
  • Sithi.org uploaded an open letter from some brands to Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, the Council of the Ministers, the Chairman of GMAC and union leaders calling for a peaceful resolution of this conflict and expressing deep concern over the violence writing further that “[o]ur primary concerns are for the security and safety of the workers employed by our suppliers and the long-term stability of the Cambodian garment industry.” The brands added “[w]e believe that the only way to resolve this dispute is to cease all forms of violence, and for stakeholders to enter into good faith negotiations, allowing workers to safely return to work without fear of repercussions as soon as possible.” Kudos to the signatory brands: H&M, Gap Inc., Inditex, Adidas Group, Puma, Levi Strauss & Co., and Columbia.
  • Finally, to add an international political economy dimension to these protests, there is a report (see also here) that details the South Korean embassy’s involvement in back channel dealings pressing the Cambodian government to protect Korean interests. South Korea was the largest investor in Cambodia in 2012.

This story is ongoing and we’ll do our best to continue the updates on a regular basis. In the meantime, keep up with events over our Fb page and our twitter feed.

Cambodian garment workers battle for wage hike

Fast Facts Cambodia

In 2013, Cambodia saw months of garment worker protests calling for an increase in the monthly minimum wage. Over the past two weeks, however, the country has seen garment worker demonstrations intensify with support from the opposition, the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP). Many garment workers are reportedly backing the opposition under a promise that workers would see an increase in minimum wages. Through support from the opposition, the country has since witnessed mass street rallies – the likes of which have not been seen since 1998 – with a reported hundreds of thousands of demonstrators taking to streets of Phnom Penh in support of CNRP opposition leader Sam Rainsy. The country has not seen a regime change in nearly 30 years.

Back to the garment workers…

Striking workers are demanding their monthly minimum wage double from $80.00 to $160.00. On Dec. 24th Cambodia’s Labour Advisory Committee proposed a $95.00 minimum wage, prompting a joint strike action from at least the following six unions (despite threats of legal action from the government):

  • Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union (C.CAWDU)
  • Free Trade Union (FTU)
  • National Independent Federation Textile Union of Cambodia (NIFTUC)
  • Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW)
  • Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions
  • Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU)

Although the new $95.00 monthly wage proposed was up $15.00 from last year’s $80.00 monthly wage, it falls $65.00 short of the $160.00 monthly wage sought by workers and unions.

Despite the government announcing on Dec. 31st that it is willing to increase the proposed monthly minimum by an additional $5.00, bringing it from $80.00 to $100.00, the unions have continued the nationwide strike action.

While there had been previous reports of violence (see also here), demonstrations today (Jan. 2) saw police in riot gear, armed with rifles, use force to break up the protests. Garment worker living wage activist organization, Asia Floor Wage, has announced via Facebook the unions will not back down, jointly agreeing to continue further strike action.

Striking garment workers are now faced with a difficult decision: stay and fight in support of their unions, or get back to work. An extended strike means lost wages for these workers; however, under the current pay structure, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for them to survive. It hardly seems like much of a “choice” at all.

Sithi.org has a geographical breakdown of the Cambodian garment sector with a partial list of brands and their suppliers producing within the country. Click here for the details, and to see the methodology used to gather the data.

Some further reading on Cambodia from SA //

For a background overview on the country’s apparel sector, click here.

Get schooled in ‘Economic Complexity’ with MIT and Harvard

Licensed through the Creative Commons, The Atlas of Economic Complexity: Mapping Paths to Prosperity is a collaborative project that builds visualizations on import/export trade flow of products and goods. Once the visualization is built, learners can scroll their mouse over each category for further details.

Click here to read up on the research methodology used.

With green marking ‘garments’ let’s check out a tree map of Cambodia for exports in 2009 (click on the image to be taken to the interactive map):

Visualizations can also be built in stacked area charts and product space visualizations. Here’s a product space map of Hong Kong exports for 2009 (remember, green represents garments!):

 

Mass Faintings, Fixed-Duration Contracts and the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia Program

You’ve likely followed the mass faintings of garment workers that have taken place in Cambodia this year. While most reports have cited gruelling working conditions and worker exposure to toxic chemicals as likely causes, reasons for the faintings remain unclear.

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Fast Facts // Cambodia

“The face of the Cambodian garment worker is that of a young, rural female.” (Tearing Apart at the Seams, Yale Law: Pg. 8 )

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Earlier this month, while investigating the faintings, the International Labour Committee’s Better Factories Cambodia (ILO-BFC) program offered various recommendations to factories, including the obvious suggestion that they adhere to full compliance with the Cambodian Labour Law (Media Update 06-08 August 2011 “Actions Have to Be Taken to Prevent Mass Fainting”: ILO-BFC)

Speaking of the Cambodian Labour Law…

Cambodian garment workers have seen a difficult year. Back in September, guest writer Dr. Robert Hanlon informed us on how the Cambodian court was cracking down on garment worker protests. The Clean Clothes Campaign still continues to fight for the reinstatement of workers who were fired during the protests: “Over 300 Striking Garment Workers Still Victimised.”

Add to this a recent report out of Yale Law School’s Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, “Tearing Apart at the Seams: How Widespread Use of Fixed-Duration Contracts Threatens Cambodian Workers and the Cambodian Garment Industry.”

The report highlights an amendment to relax restrictions on fixed-duration contracts would compromise the rights of garment workers under both Cambodian and international law. As a result, the authors advise the government not to amend the current labour law.

“The Cambodian government has been considering amending the labor law to ease restrictions on fixed-duration contracts. The country’s apparel industry is already facing heightened international scrutiny because of the mass firings of workers who participated in a strike last year over low wages. One of the main competitive advantages of the Cambodian garment industry is its reputation for progress on protecting workers’ rights, so it is important to understand the human rights consequences of using FDCs and the impact that permitting their expansion could have on Cambodia’s competitiveness.” (James Silk, director of the Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic)

The study calls for the ILO-BFC program, along with other relevant parties, to work with stakeholders to support long-term contracts. In return, the program has stated it will investigate “how the general trend in using short term contracts can be converted in the industry wide understanding of the long term benefits of changing over to longer term employment relationships” (Media Update 17 August 2011, “Yale Law School releases a report on Fixed Duration Contracts”: ILO-BFC).

While we wait to learn how all of this will continue to play out, we thought we’d leave you on a positive note, and (re)draw your attention to an important health and safety education initiative we posted on our Facebook page a couple of weeks ago: The ILO-BFC’s Garment Workers Open University 2011.

“Each Sunday, nearly 500 workers, from 20 garment factories, attended a full-day training to learn some basic knowledge about the Cambodian Labour Law, and obtain information about social protection services available to them.” (ILO-BFC)

Check out the training resources available through the ILO-BFC, as well as their 2011 tentative training schedule. Click here for the list of active factories registered and monitored through the ILO-BFC.

Cambodian Court Cracksdown on Garment Worker Protest

This guest post was written by Dr. Robert Hanlon, a post-doctorial Research Associate at the Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia.  He is a former editor at the Asian Human Rights Commission and focuses on corporate social responsibility, corruption and human rights in Asia.   

Rueters Image via The Daily Mail, Batons out: Nine garment workers were injured with riot police in Phnom Penh on July 27th as officials tried to end a week-long strike over the suspension of a local union official

Earlier this month, tens of thousands of garment workers flooded the streets of Phnom Penh demanding the government review a $US 5/month wage increase that was approved earlier this summer.  Workers are demanding a further increase to the national minimum wage from US$ 61/month to US$ 93/month.   The government and manufactures have rejected the demands saying it would reflect negatively on Cambodia’s competitiveness.  With many employees refusing to return to work, a Cambodian court has branded the industrial action illegal and has given the green light for manufactures to fire anyone who continues to strike.  

“[…] while the minimum wage law is only legally applicable to a small proportion of the entire workforce, it has far reaching implication throughout Cambodian society“

While minimum wage is a critical step for any government in guaranteeing the well-being of society, the Cambodian law only extends to the garment industry.  This accounts to roughly 350,000 workers in the apparel and footwear sectors combined (less than 8 percent of the country’s working-age individuals).  While Cambodia positions itself as a competitive garment manufacturer, nearly 70 percent of the country’s total workforce still reside in the rural areas and are not privy to the minimum wage law.  Nonetheless, this group is highly dependent on remittance sent home by family members who have migrated to the city looking for work in the garment sector.  In this sense, while the minimum wage law is only legally applicable to a small proportion of the entire workforce, it has far reaching implication throughout Cambodian society.  

Interestingly, most garment manufacturers (especially those associated with International Labour Organization’s Better Factories Cambodia program) agree that a minimum wage is critical in sustaining a certain quality of life while rightly arguing that workers already earn well-above the current minimum.  In fact, the Cambodian Institute of Development Study (CIDS) has found that the average take-home income is $US 86.88/month.  While workers may earn this wage, the amount is dependent on significant overtime. 

What makes Cambodia exceptional is that the garment manufacturers are right in highlighting the actual take-home is higher than the minimum; however, conveniently disregard the often mandatory overtime requirements placed on workers.  Moreover, the ILO estimates that nearly 30 percent of inspected factories do not adhere to the minimum wage requirements while only 8 percent follow the legal requirements governing overtime.  When these challenges are factored in, the CIDS estimates garment workers in Cambodia must earn at least $71.99 to sustain their very basic well-being and that of their dependents.  

“Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in the world and is still recovering from one of the world’s worst atrocities carried out by the Khmer Rouge. “

With some manufacturers disregarding the law and the government consistently backing industry, it should come as no surprise why Cambodian garment workers are frustrated.  The government’s hard-line approach has not only protected local industrialists at the expense of workers, it has also given tacit approval for the courts and police to intimidate and assault those who challenge the system. 

Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in the world and is still recovering from one of the world’s worst atrocities carried out by the Khmer Rouge.  Nonetheless, it is slowly developing with one of the region’s highest annual growth rates.  With the government competing for market-share with countries like China and Bangladesh where costs are low and quality is high, it remains unlikely that plight of Cambodia’s garment workers will be heard anytime soon. 

Nonetheless, in a country where 30 percent of the population is still living on less than 50 US cents a day, we may take some solace in witnessing the determination of the Cambodian people to organize and reject the abject poverty inflecting so many of its communities.

TAKE ACTION // labour rights activists at risk of judicial harassment, Cambodia

 

 

 “The action taken by Cambodian workers does not stand alone. Across Asia, workers are contesting poverty wages and deplorable working conditions.” (CCC)

 

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), are calling for action, requesting an urgent intervention in Cambodia.

“In recent months, worker stoppage and demonstration are happening in Bangladesh, Burma, China, and Vietnam, which underlines the necessity for brands and retailers to start working on a living wage.” (CCC)

According to their report, Cambodian garment workers went ahead with an organized strike (scheduled and announced to appropriate parties, 2 months in advance) on September 13th. The strike was called off on the 16th when the government invited unions to a negotiations meeting, schedule for next week (September 27th).

Unfortunately, the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) fears that labour rights activists in Cambodian face judicial threats, calling for the employer association and the Cambodian Government to “cease any interference with, threats against and intimidation of trade unionist.” (CCC)

Research out of the Cambodia Institute for Development Studies shows that a wage increase to US$ 93 is necessary to cover the workers basic needs, concluding the following:

The current effective wage in the garment industry of US$79 per month, which includes overtime and other allowances, is not a living wage (as shown in Figure 9). If we exclude overtime, which is currently being reduced by factories at the moment because of the economic crisis, the average effective wage is US$67 per month. Overtime has played a very important role in enabling workers to cover their basic expenses and maintain a minimum living standard. This practice means that the living standard of garment workers is highly dependent on the economic situation. If the economy is in a good state, they get overtime, and their living standards improve; if the economy is in a bad state, overtime is reduced and the living standards of workers deteriorate even if they are employed. This set up provides no security for a decent living standard, which undermines industrial relations and the stability of the garment industry. To make the environment conducive for both employers and workers, there is an urgency to institutionalize the living wage, which should not be dependent on overtime.

According to our survey and calculations, the living wage of garment workers should range from at least US$90 per month to US$120 per month.

(Source: Cambodia Institute for Development Studies)

The International Federation for Human Rights is calling for action: click here for details.