On International Human Rights Day, labour network Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) joins more than 25 countries in a global call on major brands such as H&M, GAP, Levi's and Inditex to make sure Cambodian workers receive $177 as a first step towards a living wage.
In addition, the organisations support the Cambodian union coalition to make sure a controversial Trade Union Law will not be passed before genuine and inclusive consultation with civil society and trade unions is guaranteed by the government of Cambodia.
Stores of H&M, Adidas and others will be targeted in street actions in the US, Europe and Asia. In Cambodia, thousands of workers from a coalition of eight unions will rally the streets in three provinces, wearing stickers saying: 'We need a living wage!”
In October, the Labour Advisory Council (LAC), a tripartite wage-setting body voted to approve a new minimum wage of $140, to be implemented in January 2016 for Cambodia’s 700,000 garment workers, despite objections from a number of unions. This insufficient $12 wage increase is a slap in the face to workers who have been organizing for over a year to demand a fair minimum wage of $177.
Cambodia recently saw another wave of mass fainting in garment factories. In August 2015, nearly 400 workers fainted in four factories across Cambodia. On July 2 alone, 38 workers lost consciousness in a factory in Phnom Penh. In 2014, the Ministry of Labor recorded that more than 1,800 workers collapsed in 24 factories. Mass fainting have been linked to malnutrition, high targets and long working hours, as a consequence of low wages and the need for workers to survive.
A coalition of Cambodian unions are joining together to demand that the brands immediately ensure a minimum wage of $177 is paid in their Cambodian suppliers and negotiate directly with Cambodian unions a binding agreement to achieve living wages, decent purchasing practices, stable employment, and union rights for the long-term. They also urged the government to refrain from passing the law until genuine consultation has taken place with independent unions.
Cleanclothes.org
