By Tim Johnston in Phnom Penh
Financila Times
Published: July 27 2010
Cambodian police armed with riot shields moved in on Tuesday to break up a week-long strike triggered by the suspension of a union official at a Malaysian-owned garment factory.
Union leaders said nine women were injured when more than 100 police tried to force 3,000 female garment workers back into the PCCS Garment factory in northern Phnom Penh, which exports clothes for international brands such as Gap, Benetton, Adidas and Puma.
Cambodia has a long history of turbulent labour relations as workers try to force wage increases.
“The industrial relations problems in Cambodia have been around for some time, this is not new,” said John Ritchotte, a regional industrial relations specialist with the International Labour Organisation.
However, Mr Ritchotte was optimistic the situation might change. “There has been a general, if slight, trend towards improvement in relations,” he said.
Earlier this month, the government adopted a new minimum wage equivalent to $61 (€47, £40) a month, up from $50, but the settlement was significantly lower than initial union demands for rises of between $20 and $43. The unions, who had called for a three-day general strike in protest against the $11 increase, eventually dropped their plans for industrial action.
Cambodia’s textile industry accounts for some 85 per cent of exports – it is the country’s third-largest source of income after agriculture and tourism – and a little more than a quarter of its industrial employment. A study by the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia in 2008 showed that 62 per cent of factories were of mainland Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese ownership.
Although Cambodia’s textile industry is less developed than China’s, the workforce is better organised. Mr Ritchotte estimated that between 40 and 60 per cent of the labour in the garment sector was unionised and said the number of unions was growing.
“The union movement has been dynamic for some time,” Mr Ritchotte said, adding that there had been “fairly rapid” growth in the number of unions but it is not clear whether that is because of fractures within the movement or if the net number of union members is rising. At the last count, there were 273 garment-sector unions alone.
The number of labour clashes rose rapidly last year, when the global crisis savaged Cambodia’s garment industry, which was less diversified than its competitors in countries such as Vietnam and China. Exports fell by 20 per cent, and many manufacturers abandoned their factories when business dried up, leaving substantial unpaid wage bills.
Financila Times
Published: July 27 2010
Cambodian police armed with riot shields moved in on Tuesday to break up a week-long strike triggered by the suspension of a union official at a Malaysian-owned garment factory.
Union leaders said nine women were injured when more than 100 police tried to force 3,000 female garment workers back into the PCCS Garment factory in northern Phnom Penh, which exports clothes for international brands such as Gap, Benetton, Adidas and Puma.
Cambodia has a long history of turbulent labour relations as workers try to force wage increases.
“The industrial relations problems in Cambodia have been around for some time, this is not new,” said John Ritchotte, a regional industrial relations specialist with the International Labour Organisation.
However, Mr Ritchotte was optimistic the situation might change. “There has been a general, if slight, trend towards improvement in relations,” he said.
Earlier this month, the government adopted a new minimum wage equivalent to $61 (€47, £40) a month, up from $50, but the settlement was significantly lower than initial union demands for rises of between $20 and $43. The unions, who had called for a three-day general strike in protest against the $11 increase, eventually dropped their plans for industrial action.
Cambodia’s textile industry accounts for some 85 per cent of exports – it is the country’s third-largest source of income after agriculture and tourism – and a little more than a quarter of its industrial employment. A study by the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia in 2008 showed that 62 per cent of factories were of mainland Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese ownership.
Although Cambodia’s textile industry is less developed than China’s, the workforce is better organised. Mr Ritchotte estimated that between 40 and 60 per cent of the labour in the garment sector was unionised and said the number of unions was growing.
“The union movement has been dynamic for some time,” Mr Ritchotte said, adding that there had been “fairly rapid” growth in the number of unions but it is not clear whether that is because of fractures within the movement or if the net number of union members is rising. At the last count, there were 273 garment-sector unions alone.
The number of labour clashes rose rapidly last year, when the global crisis savaged Cambodia’s garment industry, which was less diversified than its competitors in countries such as Vietnam and China. Exports fell by 20 per cent, and many manufacturers abandoned their factories when business dried up, leaving substantial unpaid wage bills.
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