FOX News : Health

19 December, 2013

Joint Press Release: ILO Better Factories Cambodia Programme gets new three-year MOU

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The International Labour Organization (ILO), the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, and the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) signed a new Memorandum of Understanding yesterday for its Better Factories Cambodia programme that aims to consolidate improvements in working conditions and competitiveness in Cambodia’s garment industry.

The new three-year MOU emphasizes improvements in the garment industry, including expanded data-sharing with the Royal Government of Cambodia detailing compliance and non-compliance of individual factories with Cambodia labour law and internationally recognized core labour standards. The agreement also promotes the enforcement role of the Royal Government of Cambodia and acknowledges the re-introduction of public disclosure as mechanisms to help make significant and sustainable improvements across the industry.

The agreement increases financial support from GMAC and the government for the programme that follows economic trends in the Cambodian garment industry.

Excellency Sun Chanthol, Senior Minister, Minister of Commerce said: “The signing of the MOU today reflects the commitment of the Royal Government of Cambodia to work closely with the ILO and GMAC to ensure that Cambodian labour law and internationally recognized core labour standards are properly implemented. We want Cambodia to be the strongest and most socially compliant garment industry in the region and in the world. We want the “Made in Cambodia brand” to be associated with quality products made by workers that have their working conditions and rights respected.”

Excellency Ith Sam Heng, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training noted that “The Royal Government of Cambodia has been and will continue to commit to make sure that workers’ right and labour standards are enforced in order to build a good image of products made in Cambodia to compete effectively in the world market. We urge the international buyers to increase their orders from Cambodia.”

Mr. Van Sou Ieng, President of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) said today that “GMAC fully supports the policy of the Cambodian Government to link trade and labor compliance and calls on all buyers to also commit to this in practical terms through an increase in sourcing price and quantity.”

Maurizio Bussi, Officer in Charge of ILO Country Office for Cambodia noted that the MOU is the result of extensive consultations with the Ministries of Labour and Vocational Training, Commerce and the ILO’s national tripartite partners.  “The ILO looks forward to working constructively with Cambodian constituents and international partners over the life of the MOU in an area of central importance to Cambodia as part of the agreed commitment to advance with the effective implementation of the Decent Work agenda.  Sustained coordination and a solid alignment of all our collaborative efforts will continue to be central to our work.”

The MOU has been renewed four times by the parties since the ILO programme began in 2001.

Better Factories Cambodia is a programme created to help building the economy and competitiveness of Cambodia through performing assessments on the working conditions in the garment factories based on Cambodia Labour Law and internationally recognized core labour standards and its reporting.

For more information please contact:

Mr. Jason Judd
Technical Specialist at ILO-Better Factories Cambodia
Tel: 023 212 847                                                                 
Email: judd@ilo.org
  
Mr. Ken Loo
Secretary General
Tel: 023 301 181

Mr. Ken Ratha
Spokeman for Ministry of Commerce
Tel: 070 545 527

His Excellency Heng Sour
Spokeman for Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training
Tel: 012 693 777

27 July, 2013

Profile: Sam Rainsy

BBC News
26 July 2013
URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23311394

Sam Rainsy is Cambodia's opposition leader, a charismatic figure whose tussles with the government have seen him exiled and then pardoned.

A long-term rival to Prime Minister Hun Sen, he was sentenced in absentia to 11 years in prison in 2010 on a series of charges he says were politically motivated.

Profile: Cambodia's Hun Sen

BBC News
26 July 2013
URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23257699

Cambodia's Hun Sen has been in power since 1985 and is one of the world's longest-serving prime ministers.

He is credited with helping achieve economic growth after the devastation caused by the Khmer Rouge regime, responsible for one of the worst mass killings of the 20th century.

But the prime minister, 60, is also seen as an authoritarian figure with a poor human rights record and the resources to thwart any real political challenge.

He shows no signs of wanting to relinquish power - in May he said he wanted another decade at the top.

His ruling Cambodia People's Party (CPP) is expected to dominate elections on 28 July 2103, most likely extending his leadership, despite the return of opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

18 July, 2013

New ILO Report Highlights Decline in Compliance in Garment Sector

Phnom Penh (17 July 2013): Better Factories Cambodia released its 30th Synthesis Report on Working Conditions in Cambodia's Garment Sector on 17 July 2013.
Download Full Report in Khmer  

Below is the Press Release from BFC.  


BFC’s 30th Synthesis Report Highlights Decline in Garment Sector Conditions Since 2011
 
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Improvements are not being made in key areas of working conditions including fire safety, child labor, and worker safety and health according to the latest Synthesis Report released by the International Labour Organization’s Better Factories Cambodia program (BFC).
 
BFC’s latest Synthesis Report compares its most recent data on garment sector conditions to data collected over the past eight years and finds that conditions have been declining in several key areas since 2011.
 
“Release of our 30th Synthesis Report provides us with the opportunity to take a long term view.  Unfortunately, our data shows that following steady improvement in working conditions from 2005 to 2011, conditions are now declining. Some of the non-compliance may be attributed to the industry’s rapid growth since 2011.  Still, all stakeholders need to take stronger steps to halt the downward trend. If not, Cambodia runs the risk of forfeiting the advantages that accrue to a reputation for decent working conditions” said Jill Tucker, Chief Technical Advisor of ILO-Better Factories Cambodia.

10 July, 2013

Cambodia Falls Short as Garment-Industry Model

The Wall Street Journal
July 8, 2013
By KATE O'KEEFFE

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—This small Southeast Asian country was supposed to become a model for the world apparel industry, with tough factory monitoring and strong worker protections.

But a dozen years after the United Nations' International Labour Organization launched a program to manage Cambodia's booming garment trade—the first of its kind in the world—labor activists say many factories still suffer from problems that triggered calls for more oversight in the first place, including the abuse of workers' rights.

09 July, 2013

U.N. Hoping to Expand Fair-Labor Program to Bangladesh

The Wall Street Journal
By Kate O’Keeffe
July 6, 2013

A United Nations program credited with making some improvements to working conditions in Cambodia’s garment industry could soon open up shop in Bangladesh, where the industry’s worst-ever disaster killed over 1,100 in April.

29 June, 2013

Democratization through Foreign Aid Donors


20 March 2013
By Chea Sophal[1]

The Paris Peace Accords required international communities to assist Cambodia in reconstructing and restoring the country through the establishment of the International Committee on Reconstruction Cambodia (ICORC), whose mandate is to monitor and coordinate funds provided by international communities.

.

Cambodia’s donors pledged US$896.04 million in aid for developing the governance and administration sector from 1992 to 2011.  From 2002-2011, donors disbursed and committed another US$959.35 million for this sector and they projected commitment for 2012-2014 of another US$212.50 million (CRDB/CDC 2011, p.47).  The Human Rights Watch Report revealed that foreign assistance accounts for over 50 percent of Cambodia’s budget, yet donors have said little about Cambodia’s worsening human rights environment as part of the crucial element for democratic development in Cambodia (HRW 2012, p.5).

21 June, 2013

The Roles of Civil Society in Building Democracy in Cambodia



20 March 2013
By Chea Sophal[1]

After signing the Paris Peace Accords, NGO activities continued to grow in Cambodia through the access to donor funds, including those administered by national government agencies and foundations.  The core principles of donor-funded NGOs adhered to social justice, participation, equity, independence, democracy, transparency, empowerment, partnership, accountability and rights (ICC 2010, p.5). In the remarks of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGO), they stated concerns over the Draft Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations and provided key emphasis on the role of civil society as follows:
.
The INGO community has been a dedicated partner in Cambodia’s development efforts for decades. As the 2009 National Strategic Development Plan Update notes, “Civil society is an important partner and many NGOs, both national and international, play an active and vigilant role in social and economic development efforts as well as in promotion of democracy and human rights.”
               INGO’s Regards to  H.E. Hor Nam Hong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and H.E. Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior (INGO 2011, p.1)

18 June, 2013

The Paris Peace Accords and the UNTAC Era



20 March 2013
By Chea Sophal[1]

The Paris Peace Accords (PPA)have been a main tool in setting down a vision of a new Cambodia that would be built upon the foundations of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.  The Accords involved the process of bringing peace to Cambodia after years of civil conflict and the transitional government under U.N control namely the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).  

The Paris Peace Accords

Signing of PPA
The Paris Peace Accords (PPA)were signed on 23 October 1991 in Paris in order to end Cambodia’s civil war over the past 10 years from 1979 to 1991 and to include the four Khmer factions such as the State of Cambodia (SOC), Democratic Kampuchea (DK), FUNCINPEC (Front Uni National Pour Un Cambodge Independent, Neutre, Pacifique et Cooperatif –United National Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Co-operative Cambodia) and Khmer People’s National Liberation Front (KPNLF)to find common grounds for peace.  This Agreement allowed the establishment of a U.N transitional authority that shared power temporarily with representatives of the various factions in Cambodia.  The Accord was signed by 19 countries including Cambodia[2] in the Paris International Peace Conference on Cambodia held in Paris, France and it called for a Transitional Authority of the United Nations in Cambodia, which would carry out the UN peace keeping operation.  The PPA was made based on a “framework” agreement reached by the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (IDEA 2003, p.50).

21 March, 2013

Mininum wage increase for garment and footwear workers

March 21, 2013
By Chea Sophal

Phnom Penh: Minister of Social Affairs today issues a press release on minimum wage increase to $80 for garment and footwear workers resulting from the 8th-Ministerial Working Group discussion.

The 21-Mar-2013 Press Release indicates that the new minimum wage will be implemented by May 1, 2013.  The wage increase came from the employers' agreement to increase the wage to $73 and with the intervention from Cambodian Prime Minister to add another $2.  In total, the $5 health allowance is added up to $75 to become the new minimum wage.

"The Labour Advisory Committee will work out the details of the wage increase on 29 March 2013", the Press Release said.







07 March, 2013

Women's Day -- Unite to End Violence Against Women

March 7, 2013
By Chea Sophal

Phnom Penh: To celelbrate the coming International Women's Day on 8 March, the ILO is releasing a feature article "When work becomes a sexual battleground" highlighting a story of Sisandra, who is 28, and experienced a sexaul harassment at the workplace. 

 “My executive manager came to the office and asked for my number and I gave it to him. I did not ask him why he wanted my number as he is a senior person and respected by all in the company because of his position. He then started touching my breast and private parts.”
Read the full article: "When work becomes a sexual battleground"

The U.N are also releasing the figures in relation to sexaul harassment and violence against women as following: 

Violence by an intimate partner

  • In Australia, Canada, and Israel 40 to 70 per cent of female murder victims were killed by their partners, according to the World Health Organization.
  • In the United States, one-third of women murdered each year are killed by intimate partners.
  • In South Africa, a woman is killed every six hours by an intimate partner.
  • In India, 22 women were killed each day in dowry-related murders in 2007.
  • In Guatemala, two women are murdered, on average, each day.
Sexual violence
  • According to the World Health Organization, the proportion of women suffering sexual violence by non-partners after the age of 15 varies from less than 1 per cent in Ethiopia andBangladesh to between 10 and 12 per cent in Peru, Samoa and the United Republic of Tanzania. 
  •  In Canada a study of adolescents aged 15 to 19 found that 54 per cent of girls had experienced “sexual coercion” in a dating relationship.
  • In Switzerland, 22.3 per cent of women experience sexual violence by non-partners in their lifetime.

    For full report and figures, see Violence Against Women, United Nations Secretary - General's Campaign: Unite to End Violence Against Women. 


     

02 March, 2013

OSH Day--A chance to win more 8-month wages for workers

By Chea Sophal
March 2, 2013

Phnom Penh: 2 March 2013, Cambodian garment industry contributes annually a four billion U.S dollar to the economy.  The industry employes almost 500,000 workers.  To celebrate the world day on occupational health and safety on 28 April 2013, Cambodia workers both in the garment and footwear factories would  contest and have opportunity to win the first prize of $500, $300 for second prize and $200 for the third prize.

They will be taking part in the competition on  fire safety in which they could think of practical, inexpensive steps that can be taken to improve fire safety in their own factories.  The forms of submissions include as the following:
សារព័ត៌មានអន្តរជាតិInternational News

BBC News - US & Canada

CNN.com - RSS Channel - HP Hero

Top stories - Google News

Southeast Asia Globe

Radio Free Asia

Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera

NYT > Top Stories

AFP.com - AFP News

The Independent

The Guardian

Le Monde.fr - Actualités et Infos en France et dans le monde

Courrier international - Actualités France et Monde