In an effort to stabilize the economy and establish a foothold in international trade markets, Cambodia has opened itself to foreign investment and open competition with other developing countries. This move poses a new nationwide challenge for workers and their trade unions, particularly those in the garment industry. The emergence of a global labor market has resulted in serious underbidding of contracts between developing countries, which, while maintaining low production costs has led to downward pressure on workers’ wages and working conditions. A lack of co-operation among international trade unions and threats from developed nations to move production to cheaper markets continues to aggravate the situation. However, the Cambodian garment industry, which currently employs more than 200,000 people, is confident that the number of contracts will continue to increase, complementing the remarkable growth that has occurred over the past eight years.[1]
In 2001, the International Labor Organization (ILO), in cooperation with the Garment Manufacturer’s Association of Cambodia (GMAC), began inspections of factory working conditions. Their independent report found that the major problems in the factories include involuntary overtime work, instances of anti-union discrimination and incorrect payment of wages.
The Cambodian garment industry will likely succumb to the realities of the global labor market once the current quota system expires on December 31, 2004. Losing its preferential status on US and European markets, Cambodia will be forced to complete with countries that offer lower costs and higher productivity. Government and garment industry officials are hoping that Cambodia’s reputation for high labor standards will save the garment industry and the nation’s fragile economy from collapse. In contrast, economists worry that Cambodia’s production costs are too high and that without the quota system, factories will simply relocate to any number of countries that offer lower costs.
One particularly disconcerting aspect of some industrial zones (IZs) is the outlawing of labor unions. The logic behind such policies is obvious to management; it serves to prevent workers from organizing themselves to demand increased wages and the improvement of often dismal working conditions. Instead, the management prefers to rely on self-created and often ineffective workers committees and codes of conduct. As the workforce mostly consists of uneducated young women with very limited experience with labor unions, it has been fairly easy to establish these practices in the industrial zones. This is a major concern for Cambodia’ s labor movement. The government and the companies must realize that the ban on guarantees for industrial zones is no guarantee for industrial peace. The unrest in badly managed industrial zones and the unfavorable image that the zones have worldwide are evidence of this.
To address the above concern,
the government is drafting an Industrial Zone Law to regulate the establishment
of so-called industrial zones on Cambodian soil.
· Workers have the right to organize their vocational associations or trade unions in the IZs in accordance with the Labor Law and the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
· Workers employed in the IZs are amply protected from sexual harassment, illegal detention, dangerous work, forced overtime, low wages and so forth.
· Employers must properly comply with the RGC’s Labour Law in setting the conditions for hiring workers. They should not be allowed to give workers prolonged probation periods with the aim of providing less salary and other benefits, or with the aim of firing the workers when the probation period is finished without specific reason.
· The workers should have self-elected representatives in the IZs. Workers should also be allowed to form unions and associations according to their rights and needs.
· The IZs should be governed under the Labor Law of the Kingdom of Cambodia and international labor conventions, and other decrees and sub-decrees should follow this law.
· Under the law, national and international organizations and union leaders should be provided the right to freely monitor and inspect factory working conditions without interference.
· Issues such as the environment, land conflicts and resettlement of previous occupants should be considered when establishing the IZs.
· Land should not be forcefully or maliciously acquired from the poor to build the IZs, for example claiming that the owner does not possess a title or that they are occupying public land.
· All IZs established must comply with the master plan of the industrial zones and all environmental and civil laws of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
· The workers should be provided with adequate vocational training, with the support of industry owners, national and international organizations and the Ministry of Labor, Vocation, Youth and Rehabilitation.
· All IZs should be in close proximity to the airport or seaport, otherwise they should not be allowed to be built.
· Labor standards and relations laws should not be suspended or relaxed in any way in the industrial zones.
· An inspection office of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training, and Youth Rehabilitation should be established inside each IZ to ensure that labor laws are properly enforced.
· The national government, rather than local branches, should have complete control and supervision over the operations of the IZs.
· Workers employed in the IZs should be provided information by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training, and Youth Rehabilitation to empower them to exercise their rights and to assure them that they will be protected against repressive employers and organizations.
· Stiffer penalties should be handed to employers who prevent or interfere with workers exercising their rights to form trade unions, to collective bargaining and to take concerned action including the right to strike.
· The national government should build housing/dormitory projects with adequate sanitation and living conditions surrounding the IZs for workers that originate from distant provinces.
· The national government should build a hospital or health center in the IZ.
· The national government should establish a social security network for all IZ employees.
[1] The Cambodia Daily, Saturday, September 6-7, 2003
For more information concerning the issues raised in this paper, please contact: Mr. Nhek Sarin, Executive Director, STAR Kampuchea; (855) 23 211 612; (855) 11 725 873; star@forum.org.kh ; sarin@forum.org.kh; star-ldp@forum.org.kh