Phnom Penh - Cambodia's garment exports jumped 17 per cent in 2006, manufacturers said Wednesday, but they warned that continuing labour disputes could scare investors away from the key sector.
Exports last year were worth slightly more than 2.5 billion US dollars, up from 2.2 billion-dollars in 2005, manufacturer representative Van Sou Ieng said during a meeting between the government and private sectors.
"But to be able to sustain such growth, we appeal to (Primer Minister Hun Sen) to help maintain an environment that is conductive to peace and order in the work place," he said.
"Many strikes ... from non-ethical and irresponsible unions have created a bad image of Cambodia. This has become intolerable to the point where it has affected the confidence of existing investors," he added.
While Cambodia's garment sector continues to expand -- the industry boasts nearly 300 factories employing over 330,000 people -- labour issues continue to plague manufacturers who complain that the government is failing to regulate unions.
Under pressure from unions staging frequent wildcat strikes, at least 12 factories closed and four more suspended their operations last year, costing more than 11,500 jobs, Van Sou Ieng said.
The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia estimates that strikes ocurred every three days in 2006.
Productivity plummeted and hundreds of thousands of man hours were lost due to the disputes, Van Sou Ieng added.
Garments account for 80 per cent of the impoverished country's export earnings and the sector draws the most foreign investors.
Hun Sen, also speaking at Wednesday's meeting, urged both workers and factory bosses to work together.
"About these demonstrations and strikes, what has happened has not been only caused by one side," he said.
"Like Cambodia proverb says: One hand cannot make a sound. There is a reason for workers to be dissatisfied ... both the employers and employees share the same rice bowl, and that is the factory," he added.
Unions have complained of a slew of workplace ills, from low wages -- workers make an average of 50 dollars a month -- to forced overtime and ill treatment at the hands of bosses.
At the same time, manufacturers say their overtures to the unions for talks have been rejected, and that factories are often hijacked by numerous workers' groups.
Hun Sen also warned that neighbouring Vietnam's entry into the World Trade Organisation would threaten Cambodia's market share and put more pressure on both sides to end labour disputes.
Exports last year were worth slightly more than 2.5 billion US dollars, up from 2.2 billion-dollars in 2005, manufacturer representative Van Sou Ieng said during a meeting between the government and private sectors.
"But to be able to sustain such growth, we appeal to (Primer Minister Hun Sen) to help maintain an environment that is conductive to peace and order in the work place," he said.
"Many strikes ... from non-ethical and irresponsible unions have created a bad image of Cambodia. This has become intolerable to the point where it has affected the confidence of existing investors," he added.
While Cambodia's garment sector continues to expand -- the industry boasts nearly 300 factories employing over 330,000 people -- labour issues continue to plague manufacturers who complain that the government is failing to regulate unions.
Under pressure from unions staging frequent wildcat strikes, at least 12 factories closed and four more suspended their operations last year, costing more than 11,500 jobs, Van Sou Ieng said.
The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia estimates that strikes ocurred every three days in 2006.
Productivity plummeted and hundreds of thousands of man hours were lost due to the disputes, Van Sou Ieng added.
Garments account for 80 per cent of the impoverished country's export earnings and the sector draws the most foreign investors.
Hun Sen, also speaking at Wednesday's meeting, urged both workers and factory bosses to work together.
"About these demonstrations and strikes, what has happened has not been only caused by one side," he said.
"Like Cambodia proverb says: One hand cannot make a sound. There is a reason for workers to be dissatisfied ... both the employers and employees share the same rice bowl, and that is the factory," he added.
Unions have complained of a slew of workplace ills, from low wages -- workers make an average of 50 dollars a month -- to forced overtime and ill treatment at the hands of bosses.
At the same time, manufacturers say their overtures to the unions for talks have been rejected, and that factories are often hijacked by numerous workers' groups.
Hun Sen also warned that neighbouring Vietnam's entry into the World Trade Organisation would threaten Cambodia's market share and put more pressure on both sides to end labour disputes.
7 comments:
Do you see what I mean? These
people only think of only short-
term plan. If we leave it up to
them, we will likely to lose all
bussinesses to Vietnam; and
consequently, they will suffered
and blamed everything on
government.
People need to think long-term:
That is we want bussinesses to
stay with us; We want bussinesses
to grow and hire more khmers; we
want to work as a team to compete
in the world market; we need to
think of our future generations,
not just our immediate desires...
Only then, will I see we have a
chance to all get out of poverty.
But I do believed that government
should step in, once it becomes
apparent that people are commiting
suicide and effecting the rest of
the country.
for the sake of the "future" you would have Cambodia have slave labor.
It is not slave. Slave is when
you are forced to work against
your will.
This is the nature of Capitalist
Free Market Economy. The heart
of the system is "Supply vs.
Demand". When the supply is high,
the demand is low, and so does the
cost. When the supply is low, the
demand is high, and so does the
cost. There is nothing under my
sleeves here to fool anyone if you
study economic.
Right now, we have high supply
of workers, so the demand is low
because there are few jobs opening,
so does the salary and the benefit.
Now if we keep on creating jobs,
this will slowly increase the
demand, and up to a certain point,
it will be hard to find people
to support the growth of the
company. Under this condition,
the supply become low because
everyone have job, so the demand
is high. And to get people to
work, Employers need to offer
better salary and benefits.
The system works if you give it
a chance. Don't fight it because
you can only make it worse.
Also, every politician know this
but they are impatient and greedy
for power. They are using the
suffering of people to get their
votes, and that is not the leaders
that you want for Cambodia.
They should be thinking People
first, and not exploit them just
to win the election.
hey 2:57 am, i agreed with you for the supply and demand analysis of free market economy and that's what the country ought to run. but the role of the government is not to take side but mediate their concerns to make sure everyone is being treat fairly. everything is happen for a reason; it is not out of the blue and garment workers just strike out of nothing. everyone needs a job but do you want a job that your boss abuse and exploit you?
They are not being abused, but
they are not fairly compensated
for their work, and that is normal,
when the Jobless rating is more
than 10%. It happened in all
capitalist countries, not just
Cambodia. The thing is at least
they have a job, and not begging
on the street.
As for the government, they don't
want to get involved. Read the news
again. They are just concerned to
lose jobs that they are worked so
hard to get, and we can't affort
to lose anything at the moment.
Here's a quote:
Hun Sen, also speaking at
Wednesday's meeting, urged both
workers and factory bosses to work
together.
I think we have a very different view of this so called jobs. I can see from you stand point. But the work environment has not been good enough for their workers to properly work their jobs. That is why you have the ILO working with the Cambodian NGOs to inspect their workplace so that their rights to work is being respected. There have been so many occasions that workers were complaining about force overtime without paid; workers were not allowed to go to their bathroom, emergency exit doors were locked, no air conditioning, not enough ventalilation ect... I wonder what do you expect them to do; stay quiet and absorbing the abuses? You called this jobs?
On Hun Sen's comment you posted above; this is unprecedented. It took him how many years for him to say something moderation like this? He always blame Cambodian workers for striking; frighten them with armed policemen if strike; accused them if illegal strike, causing traffic jams and so forth... To me it is not right for someone in that position to say something unreasonabl like that to your own people. We do appreciate the jobs those foreign investors bring but we can be exploited either for it.
JFI
JFI, many company in the developed
countries, including Microsoft,
Apple,..., start out in the garage.
Do you know that. Hence, the
condition is not quite like in
the Royal palace, but yes, it
shouldn't be gross either that
employee will get sick from it.
No one will benefit from that.
And 99% of companies know that.
As for overtime, I am not aware
of people being force to do that
without pay. I know many bussiness
preferred to understaff and have
them work overtime than to
overstaff then have to lay them
off during the recession. I think
this having to do with pay out
some benefit to people when you
lay them off.
As for HS blaming strikers, what
do you think I have been doing,
LOL. Okay, I am not against all
strike, just the greedy and selfish
strikes. And don't tell me none of
the strike is isn't like that.
As for police to monitor the
strike, I don't expected them to
try to keep law and order with
cookies and snacks.
And for HS comment, all I can say
is I am not aware of him being
anti-union nor anti-bussiness.
And again, it is not slavery, you
don't have to take the job if you
can't hack it. Give it someone else
who can before you push them out
of the country.
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