Boom built on ‘slavery’
Fri, 2 December 2016
Shaun Turton and Niem Chheng

The use of debt bondage to trap workers in “modern day slavery” is widespread in many of Cambodia’s brick-making factories, indicates research by rights group Licadho, whose findings suggest the Kingdom’s recent building boom is built on the illegal practice.

In a report released today titled Built on Slavery: Debt Bondage and Child Labour in Cambodia’s Brick Factories, the organisation documents the exploitation of both adults and children at factories in Tbong Khmum, Kandal and Phnom Penh, which every day funnel tens of thousands of bricks to construction sites around the capital.

Through interviews with about 50 workers, Licadho found all but one were working to pay off loans of between $1,000 and $6,000 provided by owners, who used bondage to guarantee a “long-term, cheap and compliant workforce”, the authors argue.

Paid “by piece” rates – cash per brick amounting to between $2 and $10 per day – the labourers were often unable to repay the money, leaving them trapped in perpetual servitude and poverty...
Full article: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/b ... lt-slavery

No Evidence of Child Labor at Brick Factories, Gov’t Says
by Ben Sokhean | December 5, 2016

The Labor Ministry says that it is investigating fresh allegations of widespread child labor at the country’s brick-making factories, but claims to have found no evidence as of yet.

The ministry made the announcement on Friday, hours after the release of a new report by local rights group Licadho exposing the widespread and systemic use of child labor and debt bondage by brick factory owners. Both practices are illegal under Cambodian law and subject to stiff prison sentences in the case of debt bondage...

On Sunday, ministry spokesman Heng Sour told reporters via text message that all provincial labor departments have also been ordered to step up inspections of the brick factories in their jurisdiction.

He said they had yet to find any violations, however...

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/no-e ... ys-121475/

Shoot the messenger comes to mind, as the government criticizes the Cambodian NGO Licadho for it's "Build on Slavery" report.

Minister Warns NGO Over Brick Kilns Report
by Ben Sokhean | December 30, 2016

Labor Minister Ith Sam Heng said the government was investigating reports of widespread child labor and debt bondage in Cambodia’s brick factories made by Licadho earlier this month, but would hold the local rights group “responsible” if the claims were found to be false.
“That one is not a positive report and we do not welcome it; we welcome good and close cooperation,” he said, urging NGOs to “avoid reports that are unprofessional and affect the national prestige, society and the royal government’s efforts.”

Speaking with reporters after the meeting, the minister declined to say what its follow-up probe on the Licadho report had found because it was still in progress, but issued a warning if the claims could not be substantiated.

“In the case that this report is not true, the one who made this report will be responsible in accordance with our procedures,” he said. Mr. Sam Heng did not explain what actions that could include, and ministry spokesman Heng Sour could not be reached for comment.

In its research for “Build on Slavery,” published on December 2, Licadho spent about three months visiting brick factories clustered around 11 different sites surrounding Phnom Penh that included more than 100 operators employing thousands of workers."...
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/mini ... rt-122698/

Cambodia's human rights group Licadho has received further threats from the government over its report Build on Slavery , which documented terrible cases of child labour and debt bondage in Cambodian brick factories. Despite the findings, the government have concentrated on attacking the authors of the report, accusing the reporters of falsifying the facts. The Ministry of Labour is in the process of making an alternative investigation.
This is very much about revenge for making the government look bad, but also fits into a pattern of increasing general attacks on NGOs by the authorities.

Labor Minister Ups Ante Over Child Labor Claims, Warns of Jail
February 17, 2017

Labor Minister Ith Sam Heng on Thursday said authorities had found only 10 to 20 cases of child labor at brick factories since launching an investigation into allegations of widespread labor abuse, and he again threatened to take legal action against rights group Licadho.

The NGO released a damning report in early December accusing brick factories of regularly using child labor and, especially, debt bondage. On two recent trips, reporters for The Cambodia Daily also found multiple cases of child labor and near-universal debt bondage at factories they visited around Phnom Penh.

At the Labor Ministry’s annual meeting on Thursday in Phnom Penh, however, Mr. Sam Heng accused an “organization”—which he declined to name, but appeared to be a reference to Licadho—of grossly exaggerating the problem to attract donor funding and of “creating scenarios” to fabricate its claims.

“In case they are found to create scenarios, we need to verify it, or else there will be accusations and imprisonment through legal action,” he said.

The threat was even harsher than the one the minister issued in late December, when he faulted Licadho’s report for making the government look bad...
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/labo ... il-125324/

Workers Reduced to ‘Slaves’ Amid Rampant Debt Bondage in Cambodia’s Brick Sector
3 May 2018
Brick workers in southeastern Cambodia’s Kandal province are selling themselves and their families into slavery as “collateral” for debts they owe to factory owners, which can never be repaid due to the seasonal nature of their work, according to sources.

More than 100 brick factories operate in Kandal’s Muk Kampoul district, located around 30 kilometers (19 miles) outside of Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, employing thousands of workers who labor throughout the dry season.

But while factory owners get rich off of the profits to be had feeding the thriving construction industry in the capital, workers labor under harsh conditions for measly pay that they say is barely enough to feed themselves and their families, let alone establish savings.

Many of the workers were initially employed elsewhere, but after receiving traditional loans through banks, agreed to transfer that debt to brick factory owners—who do not charge them interest and offer accommodations at the kilns—and work for them to repay it.

Others incurred debt after repeatedly taking loans offered by factory owners to supplement their income during the rainy season, when there is not enough sunlight to dry bricks and no work to be had.

Workers are regularly forced to bring their family members to labor at the factories to act as “collateral” for the debts they owe and can rarely pay off, and some have incurred debts so large that multiple generations have been required to toil at the brick kilns.

Ven Phea, the deputy chief of Chheu Teal village, in Muk Kampoul’s Prek Anhchanh commune, told RFA’s Khmer Service that there are 13 brick factories in her village, which mostly employ workers from neighboring Svay Rieng and Prey Veng provinces.

She said that many of the migrant workers had transferred debts with banks to brick factory owners under agreements which require that family members join them in working at the factories and cannot leave until the debts are satisfied.

“When they agree to take loans from factory owners, they must inform them as to the total number of their family members,” Ven Phea said.

“Workers must list all of their names and the amount they want to borrow. Let’s say they need [a loan]—how many people will come to work for them in return? Maybe four or five people … So these people will be named on an agreement to work in return for settlement of the debt,” she said.

“The owner will not agree if the worker wants to work elsewhere, unless they repay all their debts first.”
More here: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambod ... 30520.html

People need to remember that many people in this country need to survive first..yes, this is tragic, but can we also ask why western nations spend so much to kill kids in Yemen. Iraq and Syria?

Fat chicks sit in their Manhattan apartments and say, OMG, children working? Then they call Daddy and remind him to top up their $5K monthly allowance.

Survival comes first, western standards and safety come later.

Safety first is not a widespread concept. Weird foreign ideas like wearing helmets and boots on site. Live wires coming out of walls. Almost every piece of machinery I see here has unguarded parts and is a safety hazard. Zebra crossings ignored just because there are no zebras in Cambodia. I'd hate to see the health and safety nazis out of control to the point of the ridiculous like in western countries, but just some common sense and respect for people lives would be good.

ot mien kampf wrote: ↑Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:35 am

cptrelentless wrote:He looked 18

Pretty pathetic that they'll throw the book at pedos but when business owners illegally employ 9 year olds who then die, the police do nothing. You can't tell me that working in a dangerous brick mill while you're 9 isn't destroying childhood innocence.

I've speculated that it's because the government doesn't get a cut from most of the underage sex, but most rural businesses rely on underage labor and the government gets its cut out of them.

It's not the same. Kids working in a brick mill aren't usually traumatised by it for the rest of their life.

ot mien kampf wrote: ↑Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:35 amI've speculated that it's because the government doesn't get a cut from most of the underage sex, but most rural businesses rely on underage labor and the government gets its cut out of them.

Do you have any facts that back up or validate this speculation?