Just so you know. He sounds quite definite about it, but if you think you have seen or imagined any examples of child labour, please report it to the Labour Minister.

Ministry finds no cases of child labour
21 June 2017
Officials have been unable to identify any cases of child labour in inspections of handicraft businesses, brick factories and sugarcane plantations, the Labour Minister said yesterday.

The rights group Licadho last week warned that children are still being exploited in handicraft and brick factories across the country, despite efforts to put an end to child labour.
However Ith Samheng said his ministry had been unable to verify this and called on members of the public, parents and relevant organisations to report cases of child labour to the authorities if and when they saw them.

Mr Samheng was speaking to a crowd of more than 100 children and teachers at a celebration for the World Day Against Child Labour at the ministry.
He said the ministry’s inspection team investigated more than 379 handicraft and brick factories that employ 5,373 workers, but found no cases of child labour. The team also investigated the sugarcane industry and found the same.

“I want to call on parents, guardians, the public and relevant organisations to file complaints to labour officials if they come across a case of child labour,” Mr Samheng said. “We have the legal mechanism to solve the problem.”

Veng Heang, director of the child labour department at the Labour Ministry, said the ministry helped about 28,500 children escape child labour between 2012 until 2016, providing them with education and training skill.

“Child labour reduced from 16.5 percent in 1999 to 8.7 percent in 2016,” he said, adding that the reports of child labour in the informal economy had also decreased continuously, from 76 cases in 2013, to 34 cases in 2014, 13 cases in 2015, four cases in 2016 and only one case this year so far...
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/39520/ ... ld-labour/

What can you say to that ? Only one detected case of child labour in Cambodia in 2017. That's so fantastic, extraordinary, beyond belief. KOW.

I'm sure the child recyclers outside my house right now will be thrilled at the news.

Child labour identified in Siem Reap
Thu, 13 July 2017
The National Committee for Counter Trafficking’s (NCCT) six-month report, released on Monday, identified two cases of child labour in brick-making factories in Siem Reap, though officials and a rights group monitor said the use of such labour had decreased in the province.

The report said that the Labour Department for Siem Reap had monitored 20 brick-making factories in the province, two of which were found to have around 200 children working alongside their parents. The factories have since closed down because of financial troubles.

The report comes months after rights group Licadho released findings showing the prevalence of debt bondage and child labour at brick kilns – both illegal under Cambodian and international laws. At the time, Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng threatened the NGO with legal action if their observations were found to be inaccurate.

Ngor Kunthy, chief of Banteay Srei district, where the two factories were located, said the children were not performing hard labour but were only helping their parents after finishing school, though he added there were still a few cases of bonded labour. “Some families owe money to the brick factory owners, so they only help pay back their parents’ loans,” she said...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/c ... -siem-reap

More in this thread: post162424.html?hilit=brick%20factories#p162424

Labour Minister.

Yes, well...