Heng Sinith / AP Rescuers work at the site of a factory collapse in Kai Ruong village, south of Phnom Penh, on Thursday.
PHNOM
PENH - At least six people died when a shoe factory collapsed in
Cambodia on Thursday, and many others were injured, a member of the
trade union at the plant said, amid concerns about safety standards at
some Asian factories producing cheap clothing.
Cambodia
has seen a rush of investment in recent years, especially into the shoe
and garment sector, with Western and Asian firms attracted by its
low-cost labor.
"There were about a hundred people inside the
factory when it collapsed at about 7 a.m.," union member Sum Sokny, 29,
told Reuters. She said five women and one man died at the plant.
According
to one report, about 50 people were trapped inside the single-story
building, located in Kampong Speu province, west of the capital, Phnom
Penh. The factory is owned by Wing Star Shoes Co Ltd.
The Phnom Penh Post, a daily newspaper, reported on March 22 that
workers from the plant had stopped work and blocked a main road for
about an hour in a protest over wages and working conditions.
Strikes
over pay and poor working conditions are common in Cambodia, which like
Bangladesh is home to numerous factories producing clothing cheaply for
Western retailers.
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