Five international clothing manufacturers have threatened to quit
Cambodia unless the government there investigates the murder of a
senior union leader.
In a letter to the prime minister Hun Sen and senior government
officials, the companies say a worrying pattern of violence against
Cambodian union leaders has emerged. The manufacturers – Eddie Bauer,
Gap, H&M Hennes & Mauritz, Liz Claiborne and Phillips-Van
Heusen – were reacting to the assassination in February of Hu Vuthy,
the third union boss to be murdered in three years.
They say ‘swift, just and transparent’ action by Cambodia would
guarantee a stable business environment from which they could continue
sourcing their goods.
At the same time the Cambodian Confederation of Unions wrote a letter
of protest to Juan Somavia, the International Labour Organization
director claiming that ‘for the past three years the situation in
Cambodia has been at its worst.’ This letter called for an
international committee to be formed to investigate the deaths of
Vuthy, the labour organizer Ros Sovannareth, and Chea Vichea, who was
president of Cambodia’s largest union.
Clashes between factory managements and the unions have recently
blighted Cambodia’s garments sector, which accounts for about 80 per
cent of the country’s export earnings. Garment exports increased 17 per
cent last year to a value of $2.5billion (£1.26bn), but the
manufacturers are warning that labour disputes could scare off
investors. Next year Cambodia will also lose exclusive access to
foreign markets when limits on Chinese exports are lifted.
