November 15, 2000
Richard
B. Steinkam
Acting Chair
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November 15, 2000 Richard
B. Steinkam |
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HCHB Room 3100
Department of Commerce
ATTN: Becky Geiger RE:
Submission of Comments Regarding Improvement
Dear Mr. Steinkamp: Pursuant
to the Federal Register notice published on November 2, 2000, we are
submitting comments regarding improvements in Cambodia’s working
conditions over the period December 1999 – November 2000. JC Penney has
been sourcing from Cambodia for two years. During this time period, we
have repeatedly viewed the working conditions in the factories with which
we do business. Also, during this time, we have seen improvements in the
working conditions of employees in the factories. JC
Penney has a strong commitment to ensuring that our sourcing factories
comply with local laws and all related regulations. Our factories must
demonstrate that they have a system in place to ensure the adoption of
procedures relating to our factory review, have demonstrated the
implementation of procedures that have been adopted and that they monitor
compliance with the requirements on an ongoing basic. Our reviews are not
limited to a mere checklist of elements, but a reasonable assurance that
after our visit, systems are in place to maintain the factory conditions
that were present upon our review. Since
1999, we have increased the number of Cambodian factories from which we
source from 15 to 24. We have been pleased with the quality of work and
the fact that the factories do meet our criteria that measures such
elements as equal pay, timely pay, regulated and lawful overtime, ensured
rest period, sanitary facilities, safe working conditions, no child labor,
no harassment or abuse, etc. We
have conducted reviews of all of these factories and they have met our
compliance standards. We believe that these companies reflect the changes
that are taking place throughout the industry in Cambodia. I refer you to
our submission of November 14, 1999 for a complete copy of the “Legal
Compliance Factory Self Assessment Manual” for additional information
relating to our standards. Customer
Service Cambodia
finalized an agreement for a labor-monitoring program with the ILO earlier
this year. That program is being implemented. This agreement is historical
in that it is the first time a country has committed to improve working
conditions through the ILO as monitor. While we would all like to have the
first round of monitoring reports available for review, we must recognize
that the implementation takes time, that officials are being hired,
training programs are being instituted and the program is moving forward.
Further, the Cambodian government has worked very hard to address specific
issues raised by the U.S. Government during the course of 2000. Again,
we must recognize that some changes take time, for example the request of
the U.S. to hold elections for the vice chair positions of the union
representatives and the employer representatives of the Labor Advisory
Committee. The Cambodian Labor Law states that these elections will be
held every two years, Nevertheless, the Government issued a directive
stating that elections would be held after only one year. However, this
time frame has not yet elapsed, The Cambodia Government has been more than
forthcoming in meeting the requests of the United States, and even though
we can not measure the implementation of this particular element until
after the expiry of one year, we can use good faith judgment based on the
fulfillment by the Cambodian Government on its other promises of
improvements to labor conditions and should give credit until they prove
that such credit is misguided. JCPenney
avers that working conditions in Cambodia have been improving. We believe
that most of the factories significantly comply with the local labor laws
and the internationally recognized labor standards. There may always be
some problems with full compliance in 100% of the factories but we have
the ILO monitoring program coming on line to help address any failings of
the system. We would urge the Committee for the Implementation to find
that Cambodia has significantly complied with its labor law and the
internationally recognized labor conventions and grant a full 14% increase
to its quotas for 2001. NATIONAL
RETAIL FEDERATION Richard Steinkamp Acting
Chair ATTN:
Becky Geiger Dear
Mr. Steinkamp: The
U.S.-Cambodian Bilateral Textile Agreement (“the Agreement”) states
that the Government of Cambodia shall support the implementation of a
program to improve working conditions in the textile and apparel sector,
including internationally-recognized core labor standards, through the
application of Cambodian Labor Law. If working conditions in the Cambodian
textile and apparel sector “substantially comply” with such labor law
and standards, the United States has agreed to increase by 14 percent the
specific limits (SLs set out in the Agreement. Cambodia has already
received an increase in the SLs in recognition that it has achieved
substantial improvement in working conditions in the textile and apparel
sector, but that increase was not to the full 14 percent as specified in
the Agreement. NRF
reiterates our position stated in our November 19, 1999. submission on
this issue that Cambodia has made significant progress in monitoring and
enforcing its labor laws. In addition to the points we raised in that
letter, the Cambodia labor movement has since shown that it can forcefully
and effectively represent and advance the interests of Cambodia textile
and apparel workers. Accordingly, it is our conclusion that the Cambodian
Government and the country’s textile and apparel sector meet the
requirements for additional increases in SLs and that CITA should grant
those increases as specified in the Agreement.
Richard SteinkampActing
Chair RE:
Notice concerning Cambodian Labor Law and Standards Attn:
Becky Geiger. In response to the Federal Register notice of November 2, 2000, the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, on behalf of its member companies, hereby submits its views on whether working conditions in the Cambodian textile and apparel sector substantially comply with Cambodian labor law and internationally recognized core labor standards. For
the reasons presented below, USA-ITA believes strongly that the United
States must make a positive determination on this issue, and therefore
increase each of Cambodia’s 2001 quota limits by 14 percent. USA-ITA
member companies account for a very large proportion of the garments being
produced in Cambodia today and each USA-ITA member company manufacturing
or importing textile and apparel products hold its factories to the
highest standards, including adherence to internationally-recognized
workers rights and quality working conditions. While no country is
perfect-and the sweatshop identified in the United States underline this
fact- the overwhelming majority of the garment factories in Cambodia, and
particularly the largest factories employing the greatest number of ---- USA-ITA, established in 1989, is the largest U.S. trade association of importers of textile and apparel products. Its members including manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and related service providers, such as shipping lines and customs brokers. Among its well-known members are the Limited, Jones New York, Liz Claiborne, Polo Ralph Lauren, Gap, Eddie Bauer, Wamaco, J.C. Penney. and Federated Department Stores. USA-ITA member companies account for over $61 billion in U.S. sales annually. Mr.
Richard Steinkamp Workers,
are in substantial compliance with Cambodian labor law and internationally
recognized core labor standards, to the great benefit of the workers in
Cambodia. USA-ITA
is confident that, assuming the process is up and running, the independent
monitors operating pursuant to the agreement signed by the Cambodian
Government, the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia and the
International Labor Organization in May of this year will confirm that
conditions in the factories are in substantial compliance with the law and
international standards. Moreover, USA-ITA believe that freedom of
association issues are being effectively addressed in Cambodia, with
steady progress being achieved, as evidenced by the agreement earlier this
year that secured a $5 per month increase in the minimum salary of
Cambodia garment workers. Besides
the activities of individual importers, who first certify a factory before
placing orders and then regularly monitor those factories to ensure that
standards are being maintained. USA-ITA also has invested considerable
resources in attempting to identify whether Cambodian factories
substantially comply with Cambodia’s labor laws and international
standards. Toward that end, USA-ITA traveled to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to
undertake a first-hand review of conditions in the factories. Copies
of’USA-ITA’s public report on that February 2000 visit and its letter
to then-chief Textile Negotiator C. Donald Johnson are attached to these
comments and are expressly incorporated in these comments. As
a result of the USA-ITA visit and our analysis of the U.S. Government
report that provided the basis for last year’s determination that the
2000 quotas should not be increased by 14 percent, USA-ITA believes that a
primary factor leading U.S. officials to deny Cambodia that increase was
concern about freedom of association—the night of workers to joint or
not joint a union. It
is the firm view of USA-ITA that the standards of “substantial
compliance” dictated a deferent determination last year and further that
the progress made since last year even more clearly compes a positive
determination this year. Cambodia met the substantial compliance standard
last year and has taken further steps to ensure that it meets it this
year. substantial does not mean perfection. Even the U.S. Government
concluded last year that Cambodia’s factories were in compliance with at
least three out of the four international recognized core labor standards,
as defined by the ILO. Mr.
Richard Steinkamp -
Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right
to collective On
three of these four points, “Cambodia appears to be in compliance
generally,” U.S. Substantial progress still needs to occur with respect to the core labor standard of freedom of association and the right to recognize and bargain collectively. Cambodia appears to be in compliance generally with core standards regarding child labor, forced labor, and non-discrimination. Substantial progress has taken place regarding conditions of work (a non-core standard), although program of forced overtime remain widespread3 Of the six-page U.S. report on Cambodia “working condition,” fully four pages were devoted to points related to freedom of association. Yet, in its report, the U.S. government also noted that the Cambodian Ministry of labor registered 11 unions and three “federations” between January and September 1999. However, the report stated, “unions are poorly organized untrained and undisciplined.” Also, there are “legal ambiguities over who has the right to represent workers within the factory, especially when shop stewards were chosen before unions came in and/or by management. According
to the report, “the majority of Cambodian unions still appear to be
organized by outsiders and inserted into the factory, rather than by
workers… Of the four federation and one national union which
collectively represent all garment factory union in Cambodia, only one (NIFTUC)
appears to represent independent union formed -------- (2)-
It is apparent that the report was prepared around December 1999 or
January 2000. Mr.
Richard Stainkamp By
workers at the factory level . . . The other four federations/union . . .
are top-down organizations which established themselves at the national
level first and then sought to expand membership at the factory level.
“(The report noted that one of the unions is associated with a party
opposed to the current Cambodia government, although it failed to
acknowledge that many of the strikes that have occurred in Cambodian
garment factories have been led by that union, the FTUWKC.) Since that report was prepared, there have been additional strikes but it is also apparent that there has been significant progress in the attempts by the Cambodia government, the factory managers and owners, and unions interests to work together and reach compromises. Thus, as noted above, this summer Cambodian Minister Cham Prasidh came to Washington, D.C. to report on an agreement reached to increase minimum monthly wages by $5, to $45, a considerable sum in Cambodia and above the wages of many other professions in that country Unfortunately
for the Cambodian garment industry and U.S. importers who closely
scrutinize the factories they certify as suppliers, the fact that factory
working conditions are good in Cambodia was not given sufficient credit
last year. If those populated by a large number of unions, albeit with a
diversity of agendas and a continuing learning curve, Cambodian workers
should benefit from additional work in 2001, thanks to a full 14 percent
increase in production. USA-ITA
notes that it has sought to gather additional information regarding the
many U.S. Embassy visits that ostensibly formed the basis for the initial
U.S. Government decision regarding the 2000 quota increase. Unfortunately,
our Freedom of Information Act requests, file with the Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative and the Department of State months ago, have yet to
be acted upon. USA-ITA urges CITA and its member agencies to act to make
this process more transparent. The
CITA agencies should put into the public record all reports on factory
visits prepared by U.S. Government officials for purposes of evaluating
whether the standards established in the bilateral textile agreement
between the U.S. and Cambodia have been met. The current level of secrecy
only increases the suspicion that last year’s adverse decision was based
more on politics and protectionism than on facts. USA-ITA therefore urges
CITA to release all information it or its member agencies gathered to
evaluate whether Cambodia was in substantial compliance with its labor
laws and international labor standards last year and all such information
gathered to make that evaluation for the coming quota year.
Conclusion USA-ITA
urges CITA to weigh heavily the strong evidence of good working conditions
and to credit Cambodia fully for its progress on freedom of association
issues in a poverty-stricken country where the union movement is still in
a nascent stage but is clearly developing. Further,
the increase in the 2001 quotas should be provided in full now and should
not be parsed out over the course of the year, as occurred with the 2000
quota increases. CITA’s actions will respect to the 2000 quota year
determination, providing a five percent increase in May and then another
four percent increase in September, were extremely disruptive to business
planning, to the detriment of Cambodia (including its government and its
investors) and U.S. importers and their customers. Such a staggered
allotment of the increase was never contemplated by the terms of the
bilateral agreement and undermines the credibility of the U.S.
decision-making process. The agreement calls for a single annual
determination and Cambodia meets the substantial compliance standards now.
The full 14 percent increase should be awarded. Respectfully
submitted, March
21, 2000 Dear
Don: On
behalf of the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, USA-ITA,
Brenda Jacobs traveled to Cambodia last month to observe conditions in
some of the garment factories producing goods for the U.S. market USA-ITA
would like to share this information with you because the Association
believes that a broad base of information is appropriate to evaluate
whether Cambodia has met the “substantial compliance” standard
established under the January 1999 bilateral textile agreement. A copy of
her report on that visit, in a public version, is attached. Deleted
business confidential information is indicated by brackets. We would be
glad to discuss the report with you further. A
total of five factories in Cambodia is a relatively small number---the
same number of factories identified in the report provided to you by
UNITE—it is the view of USA-ITA that the observation of these factories
and the discussions with the management of these factories provide
important insights as to what is happening in Cambodia. With a greater
base of information available to it, USA-ITA urges CITA to reconsider its
earlier determination that standard has not been met. Three of the factories visited were chosen by the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, GMAC, in response to USA-ITA’s request that should visits be arranged. A fourth factory was visited expressly because it had been cited in August 1999 report submitted to CITA by UNITE. Brenda advised GMAC the evening before the visit was to take place that she wanted to visit either the Kingsland factory or the Grace Sun factory. The last factory was selected for a visit because we knew that its owners also operate garment manufacturing facilities in Macau and the People’s Republic of China Based
upon these factory visits and discussions with garment company executives
in Phnom Penh, USA-ITA believes that there is substantial awareness in
Cambodia of the importance of complying with labor standards and a strong
determination to do so. This is a reflection of the influence of major
U.S. companies, who demand that their standards. Report
on Cambodia Factory Visits General
Overview All
of the factories were behind gated walls, with a security guard posted at
the entry. It was explained that the security is necessary in part because
of the numbers of people looking for work. Generally, when there are
openings for new employees a notice is posted on the factory gate. In
each factory I was advised that the workers are paid on a monthly basis
and week between the end of the month and payday in apparently necessary
to permit the calculation of wages for each worker based upon both the
time rate and piece rate. The time cards and sewing tickets turned in by
the workers are hand-counted and wages calculated from that information.
For factories with over 1,000 workers this is a particularly
time-consuming ask. Most
factories have their own generators. They have to because that power goes
out all the time in Cambodia. Factory owners indicated that they would not
be in business if they
had to rely upon a general power source. The factories also have
running water. In contrast, most workers live in extremely modest huts
with no electricity and no plumbing. Wing
Tai: Wing
Tai is a Singapore-based company with garment manufacturing operations in
China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia, as well Cambodia. In Cambodia,
the company is currently operating in two rented facilities but also is in
the process of building a new factory. I visited both the construction
site for the new factory and one of the existing factory sites. The
existing rented facility has a relatively disorganized layout, apparently
reflecting the fact that the production had increased and Wing Tai had
responded with makeshift expansions, resulting in a layout that does not
flow properly. The
construction site for the new factory, and the plans for that facility,
will provide a larger factory with a better “flow.” Construction was
probably more than half-complete, with the dormitory building close to
being finished. I was able to walk up to the office area, and look out
over what will be the main production area, the sewing floor. Some
operations will continue in the rented facility, such as washing and
finishing, according to the company’s executive director, but all sewing
operations will be transferred to the new factory. Th new building will
include dormitories for administrative staff. There are no dorms for
production staff. Both the new and rented facilities appear to be
“open” structures, apparently reflecting the warm climate. Air
conditioning would not be possible in these facilities since there are
interior walls but not always exterior wall. The
existing site is quite large, although the factory building itself is not
in great condition. While there were many scraps on floor, providing a
relatively unkempt appearance, the factory was busy. A variety of woven
bottoms were being produced, with young women sitting at the long rows of
sewing machines. There are over 1,000 employees working at the factory.
The company indicated that it ships approximately 600,000 pieces per month
and that its two sites employ 1,400 and 1,700 workers. (The other factory,
which was not visited, operates under a different name.) I observed woven
bottoms being produced for {
}. GMAC information indicates that Wing Tai has been allocated
quota for 347/8/647/8. According to the Executive Director, the
productivity levels in Cambodia are much lower than elsewhere-about 70
percent of Malaysia, 60 percent of China levels. Wing
Tai’s workers are not unionized. Wing Tai’s Executive Director stated
that he believes that company is “about thee highest payer” among the
garment factories in Cambodia, with many workers making over $85 per
month. Wing Tai also pays the piece rate and that $85 is based upon the
piece rate. The factory reportedly has less than 3 percent turnover. There
are some workers who take home up to
$180 per month according to the Executive Director. Wing
Tai has “cut back hours in response to the Cambodia labor law, “ by
about 3 hours. The staff was “upset. They wanted the money. They want
the hours.” “Customer codes of conduct apply” in Wing Tai factories,
said the Executive Director.
“The US standard, which may reduce available overtime” also
limits how much employees may work. Copies of the [
] code of conduct, in English and Khmer, were observed near the
doorways of the factory. I was told that health services are made available to the workers and introduced to the factory’s nurse, who had her own office including an area for patients. The nurse is reportedly among the best paid workers at the factory, and according to the executive director, was lured away from a government-run hospital with a salary more that double what she had been making Suntex Pte Ltd Suntex,
a Singapore owned business, was an extremely impressive factory. It was
large, bright, and clean. According to the factory owner, Suntex produces
knit tops far [ ]. It employs 900 sewers, and a total of 1,500 workers. I
observed garments being produced with labels for [
]. GMAC information shows that the factory had quota allocations in
1999 for category 338/339 and for 347/8/647/8. According
to one of the owners, there are two shifts daily, one starting at 6:30am ,
the second at 2 p.m. 10 p.m. to midnight overtime is by law required to be
paid at two times the normal wage. Never workers get $30/mo. for the first
two months. Clerical workers get $50 or $60. After more than one year,
workers get $50/mo. minimum. I was advised that the piece rate can
increase that many workers make more than the minimum. Sixteen
production lines were currently operation, with 500 to 800 pieces being
made in each line each day, according to the owner. Fabric was stored in
bolts in one large room, near the cutting facilities, and other
accessories were stored another. I
was able to watch the workers from the office area about the sewing floor
and again on the factory floor itself. In one line, workers were hand
sewing tiny beads into the embroidery on the [
] tank tops and was advised that workers get extra pay for that.
The embroidery which was on some of the garments is done elsewhere in
Cambodia, according to the factory owner. The factory does printing and
attachment of appliques on site, but it not equipped to do embroidery so
that must be contracted out. I observed a number of [
] tank tops with a variety of appliques and [
] pocket tees with cartoon character embroidery. Again,
workers rights were posted on the walls, in English and in Khmer. A
factory manager could speak a small amount of Khmer, but others were
sometimes used to translate between management and workers. The factory
owner explained that some sewing workers had been promoted into management
positions, although other managers were foreigner-born. Wearwel
Garment Cambodia: This
is an Indonesian company that first opened this factory in May 1999, with
production beginning in October. It was an extremely attractive facility,
and the company president, visiting from Indonesia, asserted that it cost
$4.5 million to build. The factory has 1,100 workers. This
is the primary customer, according to the company president. Wearwel also
does production for [
]. I observed [
] labels on garments on the production floor, as well. There
is on union in the factory, but not strikes have occurred, according to
the company president. The workers wear “uniforms,” which are T-Shirts
of different colors based upon their job, but the t-shirts are not
allocated until the workers completes two months on the job. About
one-third of the workers did not have the t-shirts. The
company president stated that he does more here for the workers that in
Indonesia because the workers here need more. Free meals are provided at
lunch in a separate building that is filled with long tables. The workers
are barred from leaving at lunch because of concerns taking about what the
employees will eat. With respect to the Cambodian labor code, the owner said he is “not guided by labor laws the US is imposing. Our buyers tell us what they expect. We are tuned into that. We built the factory taking those things into consideration. The
workers are given “rubber slippers”(flip flops) which the company
president siad are safer around the equipment. Supervisions are being
taught English in the evenings. The factory has its own generator-there is
no connection to an outside electrical source. The company president
boasted that the cleanliness of the factory is in part due to his
innovation of ”aprons” with “pockets” around each work station, to
catch the dust, lint and scraps that would otherwise fall to the floor or
circulate. Kingsland
(Cambodia) Ltd.: I
asked GMAC to arrange for me to visit one of the factories described in
the report by the Free Trade Union of Worker of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC),
giving GMAC the choice of taking me to Kingsland or Grace Sun. I was taken
to the Kingsland factory on the afternoon of Thursday, February 3.
However, there were few factory workers on site and those who were there
were cleaning rather that sewing. The dust in the air was extremely
nick from the sweeping and slapping of cleaning cloths across table
tops and window areas. Each of the sewing machines was covered. The
factory managers stated that the factory observes Chinese New Year and for
that reason the factory has stopped work and begun cleaning that morning,
a tradition before the New Year. The factory would be closed on Friday. Kingsland was described in the FTUWKC report as having failed to paid the workers on time and having fired workers who started a strike. The event described in the report occurred in June 1999. A
relatively small factory, with a
security entrance manned by non-uniformed people (in strong contrast to
the other factories I saw). Kingsland was relatively unattactive, in
comparison to the large factories I had earlier visited. I met with the
factory manager, who spoken no English only Chinese) and another factory
official, who served as interpreter. She has been with the company only
two or three months. The
factory opened in October 1997, and orders are apparently placed through
Hong Kong, where the owners are located. The factory produces a variety of
items, including knit sleepwear, tops, bottoms. It was shown some of the
finished items and samples from the shown room area. Kingsland showed us a
list of seven current customers, one of which was Belgian, and all of
which appeared to be relatively small companies. According to GMAC
information, the factory held quota in 1999 for a number of categories
including 334/634/335/635. 338/339, and 347/8/847/8. The
manager said there were 500 workers, but there were far fewer on the
premises—maybe 20—and the facility was not large. It may be that the
use of shifts enables the factory to employ that many workers because
there did not appear to be more than a couple hundred sewing machines. He
also stated that production was about 20,000 to 30,000 per month. There is
no union, but there are 8 worker representatives. The
manager said he did not yet know his quota for 2000. Neither employee
appeared to understand the labor issue or the aware of the 14 percent
increase issue. They also expressed no knowledge or understanding that
Kingsland had been the subject of a negative report regarding labor
relations. They appeared puzzled by it. According
to them, GMAC had come to the factory in January because there was a
strike by the workers who were upset as having been paid late. GMAC was
trying to work out a resolution, they siad. They English-speaking factory
officials said it had been explained to the workers that because the Hong
Kong based owner would not be coming until the 13th, payment
would be on the 15th. Usually the workers are paid on the 9th
or 10th. She said the managers were surprise that the workers
decided to strike. apparently, in her view, providing advance information
of the delay in payment should have been sufficient. When asked whether
the boss always has to come to Cambodia for the workers to get paid, she
said that he either come or he “TTs the money.” When asked if there
had been previous strikes, she said there was one in 1998. Worker
rights were posted in Khmer on the exterior wall to the factory, next to
the doorway where the workers would enter the factory building. Another
large factory with 1,800 employees, United Faith produces primarily for [ ]. It has been open for 3 ½ year according to the Hong
Kong born manager. The factory was in full production, unaffected by the
upcoming Chinese New Year. I was told that because Chinese New Year is not
a national holiday in Cambodia, it is not observed by the factory. The
factory was attractive, neat and clean, and very busy. It is campus-like,
comprised of a number of buildings. It was mostly women working at the
sewing machines and men in the laundries. I observed a variety of woven
bottoms being manufactured. According to GMAC information, United Faith
holds quota for category 247/8/647/8. The factory manager noted that some
of the pants I saw being produced, including khakis and navy blue
trousers. there “basics,” a product that the factory has been making
for several year. Other products were floral shorts, in a variety of
different colors. Other
information gathered: I
also had the opportunity to speak with Van Ieng, chairman of the Garment
Manufacturers Association in Cambodia and head of PPS, a garment factory,
and Roger Tan, Managing Director of Thai Pore Garment Manufacturing Co.,
Ltd. and Secretary General of GMAC. As
of February 2000, GMAC had 182 members. Approximately 99 percent of the
factories in Cambodia are members of GMAC. On paper, actual membership is
over 190, but ten or 12 factory are closed, because they “went out of
business,” according to Van. Only five of the factories are located
outside of Phnom Penh. The factories that closed did not so since the
quota was imposed, Van stated that by March or April of 1999, 18 to 20
factories had closed because they had no performance on which to base
quota allocation. In
five years, Cambodia has gone from 13 to 190 garment factories, with
100,000 jobs. That means that on average, during that period, one factory
opened every 15 days and 300 new jobs were created every 15 days, said
Van. The garment industry is now the largest employer in Cambodia and 89
percent of Cambodia’s total exports are now the textiles/apparel. In
1995-96, Cambodia mostly exported to Europe, but then when
most-favored-nation (normal trade relations) status began to apply for
goods entering the United States in 1996, the factories started to come to
Cambodia. Most factory owners are from Hong Kong, Singapore, China,
Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Macau, Korea, and Thailand. Van is a native
Cambodia but he left in 1967, was educated in France, and returned to
Cambodia in 1996. We
need to understand the Cambodian life style to understand how much the
foreign garment manufacturers’ had to do, said Van. The workers have to
walk from the countryside. Some walk 30 to 45 minutes so they have to get
up early and they need an afternoon nap. They have no education. Many
cannot count. They don’t know how to sit. They had to change in order to
be workers instead of farmers, he said. Tan
estimated it takes about six months for the workers to become acclimated
to the new expectations of them. Garment factories that undertook this
investment are now a little frustrated because the shoe industry is
starting to show up in Cambodia and they are attracting some of the
setting workers. But the shoe industry does not have to go through the
start-up expense and the training the garment industry had already done
for them. Tan
noted that when the first began in Cambodia in 1997, he realized that the
workers had no money for transportation or food. They would walk to work
in the morning having had no breakfast. They would have to take a lunch
break but they have no lunch and no money to buy lunch. By three
o’clock, many would keel over, fainting. He started to provide bread
snacks at 3 p.m. each day and another at the start of overtime. However,
he said, he had to require that they eat the bread in the factory because
the workers would try to save the bread to bring home to their families
and he would have accomplished nothing. Now that time he passed and the
workers have built up some money, he has been able to discontinue the
program. Hiring
workers is guesswork, according to Van and Tan. There are no written
records, no references. They have to look at the applicants and see if
they can count. Reading is not as important but they have to be able to
count how much pieces they are producing, so the factories test them on
that. Tan stated that he had tried having applicants fill out applications
but it was taking an hour for each person to fill out the paper. As a
result, he decided to just do interviews and then have the applicant
“sign” his/her name. As
for the report done by the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of
Cambodia, Van and Tan stated that FTUWKC is aligned with the opposition
party (Sam Rainy), so there is some political objective in promoting
strikes. There are actually seven official trade unions in Cambodia.
FTUWKC has about 7,000 members but the largest trade union has 30,000
members, they said. The unions themselves are “inexperienced.” For
example, the law says they have to provide notice of intent to strike but
many do not. Under
the law, all factories are supposed to have a vote for worker
representatives. They believe that as of August 1999, about 85 percent of
the factories were in compliance with that requirement. They
firmly believe that the minimum wage requirement of $40/month is being
met, with 90 to 95 percent of the factories complying. But one problem,
they said, is that some workers don’t know how to calculate their wages.
For example, when the worker works less than all the days in the month
they may not get the $40. Also, during the first two months, the training
period, the factories can pay them less money--$30/mo. The problem may be
greatest with the factories that are locally owned, but only 7 percent of
the factories are locally owned. Overtime
has been an area with some difficulties, according to Van and Tan.
Overtime is permitted only if it is voluntary but there may be instances
in which a few factories are facing overtime. There is 100 percent
compliance on no child labor. Too many adults need jobs for anyone to
consider under-age workers, they said. I did not observe any workers in
any of the factories who appeared to be under-age.
Prepared
by Brenda A. Jacob |