Garment workers during their meal break. Between their low salary and the increasing price of food, most of them never get to eat their fill and fall prey to illnesses. (Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)31 March 2008
By Kang Kallyann and Marie Giffard
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Friday 28 March, noontime at the new Tuol Sangker market, it is break time for the young women garment workers. A tumultuous noise can be heard under the corrugated roof, along with a whiff of rice and fish smell … as well as protest. The women workers talked about their experience … their hunger.
20-year-old Any from Prey Veng province cannot take it anymore: “I earn a fix salary of $50 (per month), this is not enough to cover my expenses, I must put in extra hours to get $80 …. just to feed myself.” Here, a meal costs 1,000 riels ($0.25), however, with 4 meals per day, the income disappears very quickly. Furthermore, with the increasing price of rice, the sellers had to reduce the quantity in order to keep the price the same. Between the increase of rent, electricity, water, and food, of course, the workers have no other choice but to put in overtime paid at 500 riels ($0.13) per hour(?).
Channa, the food seller, is energetic and very affectionate with her “little girls,” she takes in the money given to her by the workers in blue blouse. She understands the predicament of the workers but she also needs to run her business: “The workers earn less, the cost of meals is limited, in general between 1,000 and 2,000 riels ($0.25 to $0.50). I was forced to reduce the portion because of the increasing price of food.”
17-year-old Nhean Malai, small and fail looking, works in the factory for about one year. Her thinness is proof of the workers condition during this hard time: “The meal is no longer sufficient for me. I’m still hungry when I get out, but I must drink water to make it up.” Even Channa, the food seller, noticed this: “The girls asked for more rice, but they are not ready to pay for it.” 22-year-old Tha just arrived from Kampot. Her eyes are sunk in, she said that she worked for a shoe factory for the past year, and the salary was too low for her work. “There’s social discrimination against the factory workers, we are not recognized, but everybody needs money to survive.” The young woman tries to make ends meet in spite of her exhaustion: “I am telling myself that I am not hungry, I am persuading myself that I am not, and then it makes me think of the meals I took with my family where I ate my fill…”
With the reduction of the rice portion, the girls became sick most of the time. Healthcare is now a luxury that these women cannot afford. “The hardest part is when I am sick. I cannot see a doctor, and I wouldn’t have money to buy medicine anyway. I am afraid that they will not let me work if I am very ill,” Nhean Malai confided.
22-year-old Siem Horng is from Kampong Cham. She knows that the fate of the workers is in the hands of the union leaders: “Yesterday I heard that the garment workers union, the FTUWKC, announced to the workers in Phnom Penh a general salary raise by $5. I doubt the factory owners will accept it.”
While the small plastic bags filled with meat is starting to be depleted, the workers rinse their plastic rice bowls, they pull water from the buckets, and they take off with their stomach still half empty. In a few hours, they will come back to eat again, and most likely than not, they will still be hungry.
On Monday 31 March, a meeting will be held between the factory owners and the garment unions in Phnom Penh. A committee will be in charge of discussing a potential $5 salary raise to the $50 minimum monthly salary, and also to discuss about the lowering of the price of foods sold on the kingdom’s markets.
20-year-old Any from Prey Veng province cannot take it anymore: “I earn a fix salary of $50 (per month), this is not enough to cover my expenses, I must put in extra hours to get $80 …. just to feed myself.” Here, a meal costs 1,000 riels ($0.25), however, with 4 meals per day, the income disappears very quickly. Furthermore, with the increasing price of rice, the sellers had to reduce the quantity in order to keep the price the same. Between the increase of rent, electricity, water, and food, of course, the workers have no other choice but to put in overtime paid at 500 riels ($0.13) per hour(?).
Channa, the food seller, is energetic and very affectionate with her “little girls,” she takes in the money given to her by the workers in blue blouse. She understands the predicament of the workers but she also needs to run her business: “The workers earn less, the cost of meals is limited, in general between 1,000 and 2,000 riels ($0.25 to $0.50). I was forced to reduce the portion because of the increasing price of food.”
17-year-old Nhean Malai, small and fail looking, works in the factory for about one year. Her thinness is proof of the workers condition during this hard time: “The meal is no longer sufficient for me. I’m still hungry when I get out, but I must drink water to make it up.” Even Channa, the food seller, noticed this: “The girls asked for more rice, but they are not ready to pay for it.” 22-year-old Tha just arrived from Kampot. Her eyes are sunk in, she said that she worked for a shoe factory for the past year, and the salary was too low for her work. “There’s social discrimination against the factory workers, we are not recognized, but everybody needs money to survive.” The young woman tries to make ends meet in spite of her exhaustion: “I am telling myself that I am not hungry, I am persuading myself that I am not, and then it makes me think of the meals I took with my family where I ate my fill…”
With the reduction of the rice portion, the girls became sick most of the time. Healthcare is now a luxury that these women cannot afford. “The hardest part is when I am sick. I cannot see a doctor, and I wouldn’t have money to buy medicine anyway. I am afraid that they will not let me work if I am very ill,” Nhean Malai confided.
22-year-old Siem Horng is from Kampong Cham. She knows that the fate of the workers is in the hands of the union leaders: “Yesterday I heard that the garment workers union, the FTUWKC, announced to the workers in Phnom Penh a general salary raise by $5. I doubt the factory owners will accept it.”
While the small plastic bags filled with meat is starting to be depleted, the workers rinse their plastic rice bowls, they pull water from the buckets, and they take off with their stomach still half empty. In a few hours, they will come back to eat again, and most likely than not, they will still be hungry.
On Monday 31 March, a meeting will be held between the factory owners and the garment unions in Phnom Penh. A committee will be in charge of discussing a potential $5 salary raise to the $50 minimum monthly salary, and also to discuss about the lowering of the price of foods sold on the kingdom’s markets.
5 comments:
Ohhhh .... Poorrrr Bayyyy Bieees!
If you can't take the job, just leave and let someone else do it, and you can wait for an aerospace engineering job that pay thousands to come along, okay?
some people have rock in their head, they can't see the plight of the garment factory workers and have no pity for them. I wonder how they would feel if they are in that situation and the people with rock in the head say something sarcastic.
Let me say "Fuck to the owner of this first Comment" of this article.
Garment workers would never die from starving to skyrocking price of rice. They are from country side. They are rice producers. Their parents own the rice stock. They nevery buy rice in capital. They bring rice from her rice stock. They own rice stock... They own rice stock... They will bring more on their visiting home in Khmer New Year.
That ain't as bad as you cracked pot (8:48) has no a drop of consideration for people who long waited for jobs. They will be more than happy to take the $50/month without complaint.
Do not worry dude, we just do what people in the free country are doing, you do not like it? Go to live in Vietname, the fucking communis hell!
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