Stakeholder profile: Key figures in the garment industry
BFC Newsletter No:13, May 2009
In the effort to achieve better industry-wide understanding, Better Factories works with different stakeholders to facilitate respectful dialogue and negotiation. This new
Better Factories series of articles presents profiles of key actors in the garment sector, giving an overview of their backgrounds and also detailing their opinions and aspirations as well as exploring the challenges they face and what motivate them to remain active in the industry.
Ly Tekheng, GMAC Operations Manager
Having worked in the garment industry for almost a decade, Ly Tekheng is now Operations Manager at the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC). His previous position was Assistant to the Manager, when he was responsible for working closely with foreign garment investors and providing information on investment and the Labour Law and advice to GMAC’s Executive Board members, who are mostly from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore.
Tekheng was born in 1970, into a middle-class family of business persons, and spent his early
years as a child in the genocide period. He grew up while Cambodia was still a battlefield,
as a result of the prolonged civil war.
After the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime, Tekheng and his family lived in Battambang province, where he finished his high school education. Soon after graduation, he went to SITE II refugee camp, located along the Cambodian–Thai border, with the hope of furthering his education, accessing free English training classes and obtaining some vocational training skills: the camp was supported by the international community and there were many opportunities for enthusiastic learners like Tekheng to live there and learn from the foreign staff who came to help the refugees. He stayed in the camp until the Paris Peace Accords, which allowed for the repatriation of Cambodian refugees of all political persuasions and for the fi rst democratic elections, which were organized by the UN and took place in 1993.
In 1993, Tekheng received a government scholarship to study English Language at the Foreign Language Center, which is now the Institute of Foreign Languages of the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Four years later, he obtained his Bachelor degree. He then went to work for
Northbridge International School for two years.
Tekheng had had no thought of working in the garment industry, as there was a general view that the sector did not pay well, and news on violations of workers’ rights, bad working conditions and illegal strikes often appeared on the front pages of the local newspapers. However, he was curious about what was happening in the sector at the time, so he finally decided to work as a language translator for GMAC in 1999, despite his initial reluctance, and was later promoted to become an office administrator. Working at GMAC allowed him to understand that disputes that led to strikes at garment factories could come from either side – employer or employee. The generalization that conflicts take place only because of the abuse of power by employers towards employees is mistaken, he says. He says that he has gradually come to this understanding, not because he works for GMAC, but because the association
has always worked hard to solve any conflicts between employers and employees based on the existing Cambodian Labour Law.
According to Tekheng, working conditions and industrial relations in the garment industry have improved greatly compared with the past. He believes that conflicts are inevitable, given that the garment sector employs the largest workforce and holds a priority position in the industrial landscape of Cambodia. He underlines that having local unions in the factories makes conflicts easier to resolve, as the unions can represent the needs of all the workers. However, having many unions can also create difficulties when searching for a compromise, given their many and varied requirements.
Tekheng raises the need for capacity building for young Cambodian university students to take up managerial positions in the factories, as most garment workers have very limited education. So far in existence, there are local institutes that train garment workers on repairing sewing machines, sewing operations, quality control and supervisory skills. Tekheng sees dual benefits to having Cambodians working at middle to high management levels. First, the factories will make considerable savings, as they will not have to spend money on accommodation and travel, and will not have to pay the inflated salaries of foreign experts. Second, conflicts in the workplace will be fewer, as many disputes arise as a result of cultural differences and language barriers between workers and foreign managers.
Meas Morokot, Democratic Independent Solidarity Union
Federation (DISUF)
Meas Morokot is 35 years old. In 1980, when the Pol Pot era ended, her family moved
back to Phnom Penh and she attended primary school. She wanted to continue studying,
but her family did not have enough money. She got her first job when she was 17: she
wanted to do her part and earn some money for her family. In 1992, she went to work in
a factory, where she worked for seven years cutting and finishing wooden boards. The work was dangerous and the saw was very heavy. During this time, she got married and had her first child.
In 1999, Meas Morokot was hired by a garment factory, where she still works today. When she first arrived, working conditions were very poor, as was the relationship between the employees and the employer. The employer would constantly break the law and force employees to work overtime. He would also sack workers or dock their pay if he felt they looked too sick or weak.
After she had been there about a year, the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS) visited the factory and asked the employees about the working conditions in the factory. The workers told them that they wanted to form a union, but were afraid to do so.
ACILS told them that the law would protect them, so in late 2000 Meas Morokot became very active in organizing and mobilizing her co-workers and they held elections and created a union, part of the Democratic Independent Solidarity Union Federation (DISUF). She was elected
President, beating several men; all of the top positions in the union were held by women.
Meas Morokot got involved in the union because she wanted things to change. She wanted to help herself, but her first instinct was to help the workers: she believes that this is why she was elected president. However, the employer refused to recognize the union and did not want to negotiate. He would discriminate against union members and use his power to deter other workers from joining, even fi ring some union members. The union complained to the Ministry of Labour and took the case to the Arbitration Council. The Council demanded that the employer reinstate the employees and formally recognize the union.
The union decided that going on strike was the only remaining option and the employer agreed to negotiate. The union has had many successes now in creating a better working environment, and the relationship between the workers and the employer has improved greatly. Meas Morokot is now Vice-President of DISUF, and also works as a union educator. It is very difficult and stressful work, and eventually she would like to train someone else to take over. She has also become Secretary of the Cambodian Women’s Movement Organization (CWMO), and Mayor of her community.
Meas Morokot is very proud of her transformation from factory worker to community and union leader. In the future, she would like to see the smaller unions in Cambodia cut their political ties and collectivize to create one large federation. With one united voice, she says, workers will
have much more power to create good working conditions and ensure that workers earn a decent wage that allows them to live a good life
back to Phnom Penh and she attended primary school. She wanted to continue studying,
but her family did not have enough money. She got her first job when she was 17: she
wanted to do her part and earn some money for her family. In 1992, she went to work in
a factory, where she worked for seven years cutting and finishing wooden boards. The work was dangerous and the saw was very heavy. During this time, she got married and had her first child.
In 1999, Meas Morokot was hired by a garment factory, where she still works today. When she first arrived, working conditions were very poor, as was the relationship between the employees and the employer. The employer would constantly break the law and force employees to work overtime. He would also sack workers or dock their pay if he felt they looked too sick or weak.
After she had been there about a year, the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS) visited the factory and asked the employees about the working conditions in the factory. The workers told them that they wanted to form a union, but were afraid to do so.
ACILS told them that the law would protect them, so in late 2000 Meas Morokot became very active in organizing and mobilizing her co-workers and they held elections and created a union, part of the Democratic Independent Solidarity Union Federation (DISUF). She was elected
President, beating several men; all of the top positions in the union were held by women.
Meas Morokot got involved in the union because she wanted things to change. She wanted to help herself, but her first instinct was to help the workers: she believes that this is why she was elected president. However, the employer refused to recognize the union and did not want to negotiate. He would discriminate against union members and use his power to deter other workers from joining, even fi ring some union members. The union complained to the Ministry of Labour and took the case to the Arbitration Council. The Council demanded that the employer reinstate the employees and formally recognize the union.
The union decided that going on strike was the only remaining option and the employer agreed to negotiate. The union has had many successes now in creating a better working environment, and the relationship between the workers and the employer has improved greatly. Meas Morokot is now Vice-President of DISUF, and also works as a union educator. It is very difficult and stressful work, and eventually she would like to train someone else to take over. She has also become Secretary of the Cambodian Women’s Movement Organization (CWMO), and Mayor of her community.
Meas Morokot is very proud of her transformation from factory worker to community and union leader. In the future, she would like to see the smaller unions in Cambodia cut their political ties and collectivize to create one large federation. With one united voice, she says, workers will
have much more power to create good working conditions and ensure that workers earn a decent wage that allows them to live a good life
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