A deadly crackdown by Cambodia’s government on protesting garment workers has stoked fears about the country’s stability and dealt a fresh blow to international retailers seeking alternative Asian manufacturing sites as wages in China rise.
Rights groups and trade unions condemned the killings late last week of at least four people at demonstrations in Phnom Penh, the capital. The violence was the latest escalation in the biggest campaign for several years against the authoritarian near-three decade rule of Hun Sen, prime minister.
The growing unrest raises questions for companies that source clothes from Cambodia, including Walmart, Gap and Hennes & Mauritz, at a time when a similar mix of labour unrest and political crisis is also threatening multinational suppliers in Bangladesh.
“We are very concerned about the security and safety of Cambodian garment workers,” said Gap. “We strongly oppose any form of violence and urge the royal government of Cambodia to drive negotiations among stakeholders to peacefully resolve this dispute.”
Walmart declined to comment.
Cambodian authorities shot the protesters dead on Friday at a rally by striking garment workers, the latest in a wave of demonstrations aimed at raising their $100 a month minimum wage and which have dovetailed with an opposition challenge to alleged widespread fraud during the re-election of Mr Hun Sen in July. More than 20 other protesters have been arrested, while opposition leaders have been charged with inciting social unrest.
“While there was some [Cambodia] protester violence, there was no need to use lethal force,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “It is time for brands to insist on an end to abuses against workers and for donors to insist on new elections to end the political stand-off
Thousands of garment workers have returned to work in the past few days, but protests may flare again as early as January 14, when Sam Rainsy, leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue party, is due to appear in court on charges linked to the demonstrations.
Mr Rainsy – who proposes raising the garment workers’ minimum wage to $160 – vowed at a news conference on Tuesday to continue his anti-government campaign.
“We believe that victory will not be long in coming,” said Mr Rainsy, a former finance minister. “We will win and we demand another election.”
This current wave of protests is the legitimate reaction of those workers who deserve a fair wage and decent conditions and must not be silenced by violence
- Philip Jennings, UNI Global Union
Analysts say the Cambodia demonstrations – like those linked to disputed elections in Bangladesh – are an uncomfortable reminder to companies that shifting away from higher costs in China brings risks not only of pressure for wage rises elsewhere but of greater insecurity and public relations damage. The deaths of more than 1,100 people in a Bangladeshi factory collapse in April prompted Primark of the UK to pay compensation and call on other retailers to follow suit.
Philip Jennings, general secretary of UNI Global Union, an international trade union federation, said leading retailers should now act against the threat of “death and destruction” facing Cambodian garment makers.
“This current wave of protests is the legitimate reaction of those [Cambodian] workers who deserve a fair wage and decent conditions and must not be silenced by violence,” he said.
While Cambodia is only the sixth-biggest garment exporter in Asia – behind its far more populous neighbours China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India and Indonesia – it ranked fifth last year in a McKinsey survey of where corporate chief purchasing officers thought the biggest growth in exports would come from over the next five years.
“Most of the players have moved volume from China or are planning to,” said Achim Berg, a partner and supply chain expert at McKinsey in Frankfurt. “What some underestimate is the risk that comes with that.”
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