Advocacy in Cambodia: Increasing Democratic ... - Pact Cambodia

Case Studies
number of challenges and 158 workers were
dismissed. The company attempted to raise fear
among the public that union-led unrest would
threaten current and future investment in
Cambodia. Even so, strikers did gain concessions
including health benefits, a reduced workweek,
and an increase in the base wage from $15 to $27
per month.
FTUWKC’s success motivated workers in
other factories to protest their working conditions.
Labor unrest increased throughout the year and
1997 saw numerous demonstrations and the first
labor arbitration by the Ministry of Labor. During
this period factories were unwilling to bargain and
tension between management and workers was
high. The situation deteriorated after events in
July 1997, as workers accused companies of
reducing wages and increasing overtime.
Organized labor grew quickly thereafter and
by early 1999, 59 professional organizations had
registered with the Ministry of Labor, including
56 trade unions, 2 employer associations, and a
workers federation. Today Cambodia has
approximately 200 factory-level unions, grouped
into eight to nine federations. Membership
information provided by the federations indicates
that approximately 200,000 garment workers are
union members. Experts in the field, however,
consider the actual figure to be closer to 100,000,
the vast majority of whom do not pay dues and/
or not aware of their membership.
Factory unions generally focus on improving
working and living conditions of members by
establishing collective bargaining with employers,
influencing relevant government policies, and
providing direct services (legal, social, etc.) to
members. Activities undertaken by federations
and unions include:
• training union leaders;
• orienting union leaders and workers on the
labor code;
• mediating collective and individual
disputes;
• organizing collective action when disputes
are not resolved;
• representing unions at the policy level; and
• occasionally providing support or services
to members (such as health benefits).
In exchange for these services, unions charge
members monthly dues of Riel 1,000 (U.S.$0.25).
This amount is standard for most unions, though
unions have great difficulty collecting dues. The
Ministry of Labor recently approved direct payroll
deduction, but this has yet to become a regular
practice in most factories.
The nature of the labor movement in
Activities undertaken by
federations and unions include:
•training union leaders;
•orienting union leaders and
workers on the labor code;
•mediating collective and
individual disputes;
•organizing collective action
when disputes are not
resolved;
•representing unions at the
policy level; and
•occasionally providing
support or services to
members (such as health
benefits).
Cambodia is political. The garment sector is a
major industry for Cambodia and offers the
potential for important economic investment and
profit. The presence of unions provides an
organized network that reaches a large number of
workers in a concentrated urban area. The
combination of these characteristics presents an
attractive network for political parties interested
in maintaining economic stability and keeping
labor cheap within the lowest possible levels of
regulation. It therefore comes as little surprise that
there is a strong perception of party affiliation
within the Cambodian garment labor movement.
Legislation and Policy Decrees
1997 Labor Law
A number of legislative and policy bills have
been passed since the constitutional right to
organize unions was enacted in 1993. The first
among these was the Labor Law, enacted in 1997,
which outlines rules regarding labor contracts,
working conditions and safety standards, as well
as provides guidelines for labor inspections. The
Labor Law also provides for the formation of a
labor court within the Ministry of Labor, the
creation of a tripartite Labor Advisory Committee,
and the existence of collective bargaining
agreements between an employer and one or more
unions.
Drafting of the Labor Law was done with
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