Tensions appear to be rising in Cambodia over a five-year-old programme to improve working conditions in garment factories.
The Better Factories Cambodia programme run by the International Labour
Organization has widely been seen as one of the more successful ethical
supply chain management efforts of recent years, attracting support
from all sections of civil society. However, signs are emerging that
the Cambodian government is becoming unhappy about its influence.
Prime minister Hun Sen recently attacked the ILO for giving a poor
impression of working standards in Cambodia and accused the
organization of misrepresenting conditions. He even suggested that the
programme’s auditors may be asking factory owners for money in exchange
for favourable statements on their working practices.
Hun Sen’s comments echo recent suggestions from the Ethical Trading
Initiative, a UK-based alliance of companies, non-governmental
organizations and trade unions, that the quality of some audits is
questionable and that ‘audit fraud’ on occasion occurs (see analysis).
The ILO said it was ‘seeking clarification’ from the government but
rejected suggestions of impropriety. ‘We deeply regret that any doubt
has been cast on the work of the ILO in Cambodia or the probity of its
programme staff,’ said executive director Kari Tapiola. ‘To date
the ILO has received no reports or complaints of the kind mentioned. On
the contrary, the programme has built a reputation for independence and
solid reporting.’
The Cambodian government is a partner in the Better Factories programme
and its continued support is important to the ILO. The programme began
in 2001 with funding and support from the government, the Garment
Manufacturers’ Association in Cambodia, trade unions and international
buyers such as Adidas, Gap, H&M, Levi Strauss, Nike and Reebok.
The ILO said its work in Cambodia had hitherto ‘been taking place in a harmonious climate’ and hoped this could continue.
There have been concerns that growing industrial unrest in the
Cambodian garment sector, which has led to violent clashes in recent
months, could also hamper progress. Last year the ILO found that
conditions in garment factories were generally improving, but not on
overtime payment and freedom of association.
The Better Factories project grew out of a trade agreement under which
the US gives Cambodia better access to its markets in exchange for
improvements in working conditions in the garment sector. The US
Department of Labor partly funds the programme, an important aspect of
which is unannounced site inspections.
The monitors’ checklist, based on Cambodian labour law and ILO
standards, comprises more than 500 items and involves separate,
confidential interviews with workers and management. Interviews with
workers usually take place off-site, and monitors – most of them
Cambodian – also talk to union officials.
Cambodia’s garment industry has benefited from restrictions imposed by
the European Union and the US on garment imports from China. It is now
Cambodia’s largest exporter, generating $2.2billion (£1.31bn) in
revenues annually and employing 320,000 workers in 286 factories.
