Early Union Effort in Cambodia

On their day off from jobs that pay about $10 a week, 14 clothing factory workers watched an instructor write two blue words on a white board: Big, Tough.

“We want big and tough unions, because that’s the only way to gain power,” tutor Kong Pharith said. “And to have power is the only way to force management to the negotiating table.”

Kong Pharith works for an American labor federation that’s at the forefront of an effort by overseas groups to teach Cambodian workers how to organize unions and improve job conditions.

But the reception is decidedly mixed in impoverished Cambodia, one of the cheapest sources of labor for U.S. clothing labels.

In a test case for global labor standards, the AFL-CIO is sponsoring the class, with financial support from the U.S. government and permission from Cambodian authorities.

The government is allowing the international labor movement to gain a toehold in Cambodia partly because it has little choice.

A 1999 pact let Cambodia export clothing to the U.S. with no or few tariffs. In return, Cambodia agreed to allow labor unions to organize and to improve working conditions, including a raise to $45 in the minimum monthly wage.

Companies such as Gap, Ralph Lauren and Ann Taylor buy more than 80% of Cambodia’s garment exports. The industry here has expanded to more than 200 factories from six in 1996. It provides 170,000 jobs and 70% of Cambodia’s $1.4 billion in annual exports.

The Cambodian government is walking a tightrope, said Deputy Commerce Minister Sok Siphana. It’s worried that private investors will move their factories to China or Vietnam if the government allows the cost of doing business here to go up.

This year, the AFL-CIO taught 60 garment workers how to organize their colleagues. More than 120 others have attended shorter sessions on workers’ rights.