Rights groups deride repression of Cambodia garment worker

Publicly stating that any future apparel and footwear orders in Cambodia depend on:

- An immediate end to the violence against workers;
- The release of all those detained in the wage protests and the dropping of all charges;
- Government re-establishing the right to strike and assemble;
- Paying fair prices to factories, sufficient to enable employers to pay a decent wage;
- Supporting the workers’ call for a substantial increase in the minimum wage (to USD 160); and
- Committing to maintaining buying volumes from Cambodia if wages were to rise.

“Whilst our primary concern is the safety and well-being of those workers who have been detained, we are also calling on brands to look at the long-term implications of their purchasing practices.” said Jeroen Merk of the Clean Clothes Campaign. “Until brands recognise that these practices contribute to the poverty wages received by workers in Cambodia, and in turn the demonstrations we are witnessing, then no brand sourcing from Cambodia can claim to be acting fairly or decently.”

Cambodia's garment industry employs over 500,000 people, is responsible for around 95% of Cambodia's export industry and is worth €3.38 billion a year. The minimum wage falls a long way short of a living wage, and the poverty wages workers receive contribute to shocking levels of malnutrition amongst the mainly young female workforce.

“These latest horrific developments demonstrate why authorities can no longer afford to ignore the social problems and poor living conditions facing workers in Cambodia today,” said Tola Meoun, Head of Labor Programmes for the Cambodian NGO Community Legal Education Centre.

Clean Clothes Campaign