Cambodia: Persistence and Complexity of Child Labour Issues in Garment Industry
By: Napat Rungsrithananon
Tags: Human Rights, Child Abuse, Children, Cambodia, Child Labor

Referring to work undertaken by children below the appropriate legal minimum working age, child labour has long been a stubborn issue present in various parts of the world, having attracted the attention of global leaders who have pledged their commitment, as well as resources, to eradicate it. Indeed, between 2002 and 2012, impressive strides were made. The global figure dropped by nearly one-third from 246 million to 168 million.

Unfortunately, such pace did not hold out. The more recent statistics, released in 2017, suggests that the progress is becoming much slower. Between 2012 and 2016, the number of child labourers dropped from 168 million to only 152 million — the slowest pace of reduction in decades. Of the 152 million, some 73 million are doing jobs considered hazardous and around half are between 5 to 11 years of age.

In fact, the actual figure is likely to be much bigger. After all, the data may not be as comprehensive, due to the variations in the definition of child labour across different countries — e.g. in age of employability and nature of employment — and the existence of invisible workers — i.e. those who fail to be counted.

Despite its reputation as a vibrant economic zone, Asia-Pacific region is home to 62 million child labourers, with up to 28.5 million children working in hazardous conditions and millions more being denied opportunities to enrol in schools and having their doors shut on a better future.

Driven by a legacy of its tragic past, Cambodia stands out as one of the Asian countries where the issue of child labour is particularly rife. The Khmer Rouge and the mass genocide of over 2 million Cambodians — many were intellectuals, professionals and members of the preceding government — have left many without parents, the young generation to rebuild their lives by themselves and the Cambodian education system severely disrupted. The resultant hardship in turn has bred the crisis of child labour — and human trafficking.

In Cambodia, over 400,000 children can be found in workforce, working in brick kilns, cocoa plantations and factories, and, unsurprisingly, numerous instances of child labour — in violation of both the international and local labour laws — have continued to be identified and documented.

Take garment sector — the Cambodian labour law outlines that factories may only employ children aged 15 and above, and those below 18 may only engage in light work and may not work for more than 8 hours per day or a night shift. Factories are also required to keep a list of all children employed, with their ages and proof of age.

Hence, in theory and on paper, child labour is illegal, and regulations have been set out to protect working children.

Unfortunately, the law has failed the children. In their 2015 Cambodia report — based on interviews with more than 340 people, including 270 garment workers from 73 factories in Phnom Penh and nearby provinces — Human Rights Watch (HRW) identified the illegal practice of child labour in at least 11 factories. Children reportedly had to work excessively long hours and were paid less than minimum wage. Four children, whom HRW spoke to, stated that they had been working in factories even before turning 15, while all other children said they had to work alongside adults, with equal pressure, to meet targets and do overtime. In at least two factories, children even did night work, for instance, when they had to rush orders.

HRW also found that poverty and lack of access to education — combined with idle vacation time — were key reasons for why children dropped out of school and took up factory work. One 17-year-old female worker told HRW that she left school because her mother was severely indebted, and she needed to support her and her four siblings. Similarly, another 16-year-old female worker told HRW that she could not afford school, and, when asked what she would do if all children were to be dismissed from factories, her mother said she would make her work in a cassava farm instead — a confirmation that a lot of families indeed do rely on children to supplement family incomes.

While a recent Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) report points out to some improvement sign — it found only 4 instances of garment factories engaging in child labour in 2017, compared to 16 cases in 2016 and 65 in 2014 — such news ought to be viewed with caution. All the adult workers — who spoke to HRW and who reportedly saw children in their factories — recounted how managers would tell children to hide, leave the factory or take a day off when visitors were known to be coming.

Further undermining the credibility of the BFC report is the workers’ inability to have an honest discussion with visitors. Irrespective of who was visiting the factory — whether they were brand representatives, government officials or BFC monitors — workers often complained that they could not have a frank discussion about their working conditions, and that there is a need for a stronger mechanism for reporting concerns, for instance, off-site and without fear of surveillance or retaliation by management.

The good news suggested by the BFC report hence ought not to be viewed with too much enthusiasm.

The road to a complete eradication of child labour is still long, and the challenge has never been more complex. After all, countless families rely on their children to supplement overall family incomes. Any long-term, effective and meaningful solution will need to address the poverty that currently forces children to work and robs them of school education.

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