The chief purpose of the Better Factories Cambodia Synthesis Reports is to provide an overview of working conditions in the Cambodian garment and footwear industries, and to enable stakeholders to use this information to improve working conditions. The data presented in this 31st Synthesis Report reveals a mixed picture of working conditions and respect for worker rights in the 362 garment factories and nine footwear factories assessed over the year-long period from May 2013 to April 2014.
On the occasion of Labor Day, 1 May 2014, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights(“CCHR”) calls on the Royal Government of Cambodia (the “RGC”) to commit to protecting and promoting labor and workers’ rights in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”). Although human rights violations are rampant, the RGC has done little to concretely address these problems, despite its legal obligations to do so.
I am writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch to raise our concerns regarding what appears to be a dramatic decline in the registration of unions, including in garment and footwear factories, and to urge you to immediately intervene and ensure that the responsible officials resume licensing unions.
The Cambodia Center for Human Rights (“CCHR”) expresses grave concerns over the severe measures taken by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday 22 April 2014 to restrict the union rights of Mr. Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union (“CCAWDU”). Originally charged in March 2014, the Court on Tuesday ordered Mr. Ath Thorn to stay away from the SL Garment Factory in Phnom Penh and its workers, and to avoid public gatherings that could “damage the public order” or face pre-trial detention.
This Briefing Note focuses on the right to freedom of association for unions in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”), through examining the current status of freedom of association in the country; considering the drafting of the Law on Trade Unions (the “Law”), which the Royal Government of Cambodia (the “RGC”) has pledged to adopt by the end of 2014; and offering concrete recommendations to the RGC on the draft Law to ensure it complies with international human rights standards and guarantees the right to freedom of association.
On January 2 and 3, 2014, Cambodian security forces engaged in deadly attacks on protesting garment workers in the country’s capital, Phnom Penh. The country’s military police killed at least four people and injured at least 38 by firing assault rifles at workers who were protesting outside garment factories, demanding higher wages. (This report is available only in English version)
With the launch of Better Factories Cambodia’s online Transparency Database, BFC returns to its earlier practice of disclosing compliance information about individual garment factories.
The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (“CCHR”) launches today – 28 February 2014 –a new Business and Human Rights Web Portal and releases updated data on garment factories and supply chains in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”). The Business and Human Rights Portal and the updated database on garment factories in Cambodia are available on CCHR’s award-winning Cambodian Human Rights Web Portal at www.sithi.org.
The recent rubbish collectors’ protests and subsequent negotiations with CINTRI demonstrated restraint on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia (the ‘’RGC’’), and highlighted how, with dialogue and compromise between all parties, collective strike action can be resolved peacefully in the Kingdom of Cambodia (‘’Cambodia’’).
This report is written and published by Asia Monitor Resource Centre following a fact-finding after the general strike and violent crackdown during December 2013 and January 2014. The report found that the demand of Cambodian workers to lift the minimum wage to US$ 160 is fair and reasonable, as their real wages have been stagnant despite their tremendous contribution to Cambodia’s economic growth. The ineffective response of the Labour Advisory Committee in meeting this demand has compelled the majority of workers to strike and protest. The disproportionate use of force by the government to suppress these legitimate protests demonstrate that the government is more concerned with protecting the interests and profits of the employers of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia than protecting the workers’ rights to a decent living wage, freedom of association and other basic human rights.
Freedom of association is protected under provisions of domestic and international law. Despite this, widespread violations of freedom of association frequently occur throughout the Kingdom of Cambodia (‘’Cambodia’’), which is increasingly regarded as a dangerous country in which to be a trade unionist. In October 2013 the International Labour Organization (the ‘’ILO’’) named Cambodia as one of three country cases that were the most serious and urgent regarding freedom of association.
