Cambodian garment workers vow to continue wages fight

When Cambodian garment workers took to the streets in January to demand a 60 US dollar per month increase, some lost their lives.

By Rebecca Henschke

Source: World News, SBS Radio

When Cambodian garment workers making clothes for global brands such as H and M and Walmart took to the streets in January to demand a 60 US dollar per month increase, some lost their lives.

(Transcript from World News Radio)

Riot police opened fire on hundreds of demonstrators in Phnom Penh, leaving five dead.

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Khat Samneang's husband worked in a factory that supplied the US brand Walmart.

He started working there when he was 16 years old, earning around $3 a day.

In January, when fellow workers took to the streets to demand a doubling of the minimum wage, Khat Samneang says her husband decided to join them.

"The money is not enough, everything is going up so he joined the protest to get a raise for our chilld, to live as normal people to live a normal life."

A Cambodian government-appointed commission had found that a liveable minimum wage needed to be around $US160 per month.

So when the government announced an increase well below that, the reaction was immediate.

Garment workers filmed police firing live ammunition directly at hundreds of workers who were blocking a road outside the Canadian Industrial Park area in Phnom Pehn.

Rights activist Moses Ngyen took SBS to the place where the killings took place.

"This was like a battle field between the army and the workers, couple of people were shot dead and over 40 people were injured and sent to the hospital."

When Khat Samneang heard the news on the radio, she tried to call her husband.

She couldn't get through.

So she called to her brother-in-law.

"He told me that your husband was shot dead and I am on the way to take the body to the Russian hospital. It was not till I saw the body of my husband that I believed it. My husband before he got shot and killed I know how much he pleaded for his life because I saw the photo where his hands are together in pray."

Four other people were killed that day and a 16-year-old boy is missing, believed dead.

23 others were arrested, including senior union leader Vorn Pov.

His wife, Prak Sovannary has repeatedly made applications for bail and they have been repeatedly denied.

"Why didn't they release him so he can get medical care? It's very unjust. Unjust! Why? We need our family back together."

Vorn Pov and the others have been charged with destroying public property and inciting violence.

The police say the protestors were anarchists who need to be chased out.

"Get out of the way. Do you want to make another war? They have given you peace? Today is peace. So you are looking for what!?"

There has been no investigation into why live bullets were used.

David Welsh is with the US labour rights group, Solidarity Center.

He meets regularly with the Cambodian government.

"Basically the government is on record with me at least saying that as far as they are concerned not a dollar is going to be going to any of the families of the decreased. Or any of the injured so to get any kind of compensation there is an ongoing process where brands will be asked to put a fund together."

Ken Loo represents around 550 garment and footwear factories through the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia.

He says factory owners do not have any obligation to pay compensation to the injured or the deceased workers' families.

Instead the Association is planning on demanding compensation from the workers unions, saying the industry lost millions of dollars because of the two weeks of proteÀÈ.à¹.E'E(sts.

"We are actually the ones who suffered in this whole incident. Who is seeking compensation for us? Buyers are not going to be giving us a cent. It's unfortunate that the women you spoke to lost her husband, but then why was he part of the demonstration? Q. He was striking for a better living wage. He said that he couldn't live on 100 USD and he thought that he would take the chance to as the ILO says to strike. He took the right to strike and was killed. He has the right to strike peacefully. He has no right to engage in violence. Q. He did not engage in violence she says. Really? The whole protest engaged in violence.Q. He walked down the street? Why was he there? If I was a peacefully demonstrator you or me and I ended up in the area where there was violence and I see in front of me a few hundreds if not thousands of protestors and on the other hand if I see hundreds of anti-riot police and if I am not involved am I going stay there? No I am going to get my arse home."

The garment industry generates five point five billion US dollars from 600 factories in Cambodia each year.

It accounts for well over 80 percent of the countries export Gross Domestic Product.

It is the single largest industry in the country.

But Ken Loo says the factory owners can't afford to raise wages for the garment workers because he says the buyers-- the clothing brands-- are not willing to pay more.

"Investors are here to make money, investors are not here for charity. Investors are not here because of good compliance. We have to make money, so if we make money we stay here. If we don't make money then they naturally will start to look at leaving."

But China, Vietnam and Indonesia all have higher minimum wages than Cambodia.

Opposition politican Mu Sochua says the big brands also care about their image.

"The blood of the workers tainted on the t-shirts of GAP and on the shoes of Puma and Nike that is hurting these big brands. They don't want to leave Cambodia, in fact they put pressure on the government to find a solution."

The Cambodian Garment Association says they will not be able to increase pay rates to 160 US dollars a month for another five years.

But unions say they are not willing to wait, and will continue to fight for better wages.

Khat Samneang is going back to her job in the factory earning three dollars a day, making clothes for global brands Gap and H and M.

"When my child can start eating and running. I will take her to my mother and leave her and come back and start working in the factory to earn money for my child and when she grow up I want her to study a lot in Phnom Phen. So I want her to go to school and have the knowledge."