| Author | Su Su Wai |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.RD-07-09 |
| Subject(s) | Clothing workers--Cambodia
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| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Regional and Rural Development Planning |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The research focuses on examining the current situation and development of the garment factories and the existing socio-economic conditions of the workers, their working and living conditions, benefits and welfares attributes provided in Cambodia. A comparative research has been conducted between new and old garment factories. The field work was conducted in Ta Khmau town, Kandal province. Data were collected both from primary and secondary sources. The primary data was obtained through a field survey by using a standardized questionnaire. The sample size was 90 garment workers stratified by local and migrant workers. In addition, the primary data was also collected from key informants interview and focus group discussions. The garment industry is opening opportunity for economic development and creating employment. The Government of Cambodia put strong emphasis to attract investment in garment sector through cooperation with other institutions. The growth of garment sector is mainly because of the availability of cheap labour, reducation of limits on foregin excahnge transactions, free repartriation of capital and generous tax breaks. Two factories under study have attention on good labour management to build a trusted culture and to ensure the decent working conditions according to ILO guideline and Cambodia Labour Law. Garment Manufacturing Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and ILO played pivotal roles in garment industry investment and development by increasing export markets through quota system and strengthening labour law through the Better Factories Cambodia Projects. The program represented a convergence of common interests of the industry, international buyers, the desires of western consumers for sweatshop free products, and for more and better jobs in one of the poorest countries of Asia. The existing working and living conditions were assessed as moderate. However, there were poor evaluations by the workers regarding ventilation and toilets. The two study factories shared similar socio-economic status and characteristics of the workers where majority of them were young, single, originated from poor households, with low level of education, no specific skill, and worked without payment in rural areas. The monthly wages was always above the minimum wage of $ 45 with overtime and bonus with an average of approximately $ 50 per month in Factory A and $ 59 per month in Factory B. The migrant workers face with concerning accommodation but transportation problem is issue for local workers. In short, the garment factory is the source of main family income generation for both workers by employing a great pool of unskilled workers. Based on the findings, a set of recommendations have been made in order to enforce the factory working standards for providing healthy working and living environments in line with ILO standards, simultaneously protecting the interests and benefits of the workers. The research also provide a number of implications to sustain and promote industralization in Cambodia taking advantage of cheap labour situation. |
| Year | 2007 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Rural Development, Gender and Resources (RD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Routary, J. K.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Ahmad, Mokbul Morshed;Resuneccion, Bemdette; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Institute of Technology (Partial);Mr. Masuo Uno and Mrs. Uno Setsuko (Fukuoka, Japan); |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2007 |