Recently, a garment factory in Daikinou City, Kandal Province announced the layoff of 3,000 workers due to lack of orders.
Received wages on the 30th
An anonymous female worker said that the factory boss fired 3,000 people without giving advance notice. Currently, their biggest concern is not being able to receive compensation. Because the boss promised that workers’ compensation and other expenses will not be paid until April 30.
She said, “Not only are we unemployed now, but we also don’t know when we will get the money. So we hope the Ministry of Labor will come forward to help us solve this matter.”
Another female worker said, “When After the boss announced the layoff, we were very worried about not being able to find a job because of our age. Moreover, many factories are currently temporarily suspended. If we lose our jobs, our family life will be in trouble.”
She said bluntly, don’t The factory is temporarily suspended, and the workers are still receiving some subsidies. However, their company directly laid them off. If they couldn’t find a job for a while, they really didn’t know what to do.
The director of the human resources department of the factory said that the reason why the factory did this was because there were no orders and there was not enough money to pay the workers. As for compensation, the union is negotiating with the factory.
An Tun, chairman of the Cambodian Labor Federation, said that according to the law, when the factory does not notify in advance When you fire a worker, you need to compensate the worker for wages, bonuses, compensation and other expenses.
He emphasized that if the company still has the ability or the government coordinates with the company to temporarily suspend work, there is no need to lay off workers, so that workers can still receive a $70 subsidy.
It is reported that this factory has nearly 8,000 workers. However, due to the epidemic, the factory lacked raw materials and buyers canceled orders, causing the factory to be in trouble and had to lay off employees.
When the garment factory pays wages
Requires workers to resign voluntarily
At 8 a.m. on April 23, a garment factory in Phnom Penh required workers to sign a voluntary resignation certificate when paying wages. As a result, more than 300 workers gathered to protest.
It is reported that the factory is located in Pusenzhi District and has 1,020 workers, some of whom have already Work here for 5 to 10 years.
The workers said that due to the epidemic, the factory lacked raw materials and had been shut down for two months. The boss promised to pay them 40% of their monthly salary before the shutdown.
“Today, the factory paid wages to more than 300 workers, but the workers were required to sign a certificate stating that they voluntarily resigned, and seniority wages would not be paid if the workers did not voluntarily resign.”
This move made the workers very dissatisfied. Therefore, the workers held protests and demonstrations, and hoped that the labor department or other relevant departments would come forward and negotiate a solution with the factory.
Export orders were cancelled
The livelihoods of 500,000 workers in Cambodia were affected
Recently, the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) stated that due to the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic, about 60% of its factories have been severely affected by the cancellation of orders.
Ken Loo, secretary-general of the Cambodian Garment Manufacturers Association, revealed that most buyers of clothing and textiles from Cambodia have canceled their orders, most of which are from the US and EU markets. Accounting for 28% and 46% of Cambodia’s export market respectively, a total of 74% of the apparel and textile export market will be affected. However, it is currently impossible to estimate the specific losses from order cancellations.
In addition, he also said that because 74% of clothing and textile exports are blocked, employees working in factories will also be affected. There are 750,000 garment industry workers in Cambodia. If calculated based on 74% of the data, it is equivalent to 500,000 employees being affected.
“If you expand this problem to a global scale, the situation will become very scary.”
He pointed out that brands and retailers around the world have responded to the COVID-19 crisis by canceling orders in large numbers, further causing factories around the world to be unable to pay workers.
On April 22, the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and Global Unions issued a statement and provided a way for brands, retailers and workers to cooperate, This method is also supported by labor unions and employer organizations in order to alleviate the large number of personnel, income and other losses in the clothing supply chain caused during the epidemic.
Many brands have pledged to take immediate measures, such as paying production orders, cooperating with governments and international financial institutions and establishing funds to address workers’ needs, and strengthening social protection in the supply chain.
It is critical that all parties act as quickly as possible to secure funds from international financial institutions in line with the commitments in this statement to maintain workers’ incomes. Brands and retailers are prohibited from canceling orders, seeking discounts, and paying suppliers in full for all orders completed or in production to avoid��causing supplier bankruptcies, widespread unemployment and an exacerbation of the crisis.
Meanwhile, the Clean Clothes Campaign urges all brands and retailers to honor their commitments and fulfill outstanding orders immediately, as workers around the world are still waiting for March wages to be paid.
For decades, brands and retailers have prioritized reducing costs and maximizing profits instead of protecting employee lives and raising wages, leaving garment factory workers almost alone. We are not immune to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Low pricing, tax breaks, and union dissolution have led to a lack of funding for public health and social security systems in many clothing-producing countries.
To strengthen protections for workers, it is necessary to rebalance power relations, reduce inequalities in supply chains, and long-term reform of purchasing behavior and labor relations in the garment industry. Brands and retailers must negotiate and sign enforceable agreements with unions to pay higher prices for orders, obtain additional funds to pay workers, and support the government’s social insurance system, as well as various social protection measures for workers. .
The future apparel supply chain needs to be characterized by new cost accounting models that take into account workers’ wages and social security systems, as well as the establishment of transparent and enforceable regulations. </p
