LONDON, March 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Cambodiangarment workers making clothing for international retailers arefrequently abused and exploited at work and neither thegovernment nor major brands are doing to enough to protect them,researchers said on Thursday.
A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report said that despite stronglabour laws, Cambodia is failing to protect workers involved inthe global garment supply chain.
HRW identified lax enforcement of labour laws and a failureby retailers to ensure monitoring and compliance, in particularat sub-contractor factories, with workers reporting being forcedto do overtime and being sacked for being pregnant.
The report comes as wage protests, mass fainting ofemployees, and burdensome union registration procedures havefocused attention on the plight of workers in the largelyforeign-owned industry, which provides more than half a millionjobs and generates $5 billion annually.
"The Cambodian government should take swift measures toreverse its terrible record in enforcing its labour laws andprotect workers from abuse," said Aruna Kashyap, HRW's seniorwomen's rights researcher and author of the 140-page report.
A government spokesman said the government had been workingwith buyers, contractors and unions to resolve labour rightsissues.
"The royal government has been addressing these issues, andwe don't encourage forced labour or other labour abuses," spokesman Phay Siphan told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The report highlighted unlawful discrimination againstpregnant women, citing cases of females being dismissed, demotedand having their pay cut when they became visibly pregnant.
Women, who make up about 90 percent of the industry'sestimated 700,000 workers, also told HRW of both physical andverbal sexual harassment by managers and male colleagues.
The report said many international clothing and footwearbrands had failed to promote workers' rights because of poorsupply chain transparency, the absence of protection forwhistleblowers and a failure to help factories correct problems.
"These global apparel brands are household names," Kashyapsaid. "They have a lot of leverage, and can and should do moreto ensure their contracts with garment factories are notcontributing to labour rights abuses."
In interviews with 270 workers from 73 factories, HRW foundmany factories repeatedly issued short-term contracts to avoidpaying workers maternity and other benefits, and to make iteasier to fire them.
Workers also experienced retaliation, including dismissal,pay cuts or transfers to piece-work wages if they refused towork overtime.
British retailer Marks & Spencer was one of thecompanies named in the report but stressed that all itssuppliers are regularly audited.
"As a condition of working with us, all our suppliers,wherever they are in the world, must adhere to our strictethical standards and are audited regularly by third party,independent auditors," a spokesman said by email. (Additional reporting by Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh, Editingby Tim Pearce)
Marks & Spencer (MKS)