And so it goes, barter with the poor and tip the wealthy

Cambodia garment workers ask global brands for pandemic aid
Unions say total of $393m in wages and severance have been lost
SHAUN TURTON, Contributing writerAugust 7, 2021 15:00 JST

PHNOM PENH -- Cambodian garment workers are demanding the world's biggest clothing companies help recover millions of dollars worth of wages and benefits lost amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Their call comes as part of a broader movement by the region's garment workers, underscoring the tough conditions facing the industry even as demand for clothing and shoes rebounds in the U.S. and other major markets.

A collective of 33 unions and labor rights groups from Cambodia this week wrote to major brands -- including Adidas, H&M, Levis, Nike, Puma, Target, Gap, C&A and VF Corp. -- calling for action.

They say $117 million in wages were lost during Cambodia's lockdown in April and May, a figure based on a study of 114 factories undertaken by local unions and the Clean Clothes Campaign.

The group calculated Cambodia's more than 700,000 garment workers were owed $393 million in outstanding wages and severance since the start of the pandemic.

One reason for the much larger number, the groups say, is that factories are failing to pay severance as stipulated in the country's labor law. The Labor Ministry last year advised factories closing because of economic hardship that they do not have to pay damages or make prior notice payments.
Full article: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coron ... ndemic-aid

Recovery may suffer, with more factory shutdowns or less working hours for garment factory workers predicted.

Cambodia's garment sector confronted by rising costs and falling orders
AseanPlus News
Wednesday, 12 Oct 2022
4:49 PM MYT
PHNOM PENH, Oct 12 (Phnom Penh Post/ANN): After Covid-19, Cambodia’s garment, travel goods and footwear makers and workers are faced with new issues that threaten each other’s rice bowl

Signs of an impending recession in the US and Europe are starting to show in the East, where demand and purchase orders have seen “significant drops” in the second half of 2022.

The result – a quarter of Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) are looking to partially suspend operation in September or may require their workers to work less hours. That’s roughly 170 factories, though the exact number of workers are not known.

As of August 3, 2022, official data for the whole year revealed that operations in some 100 factories are still suspended, affecting around 10,000 workers.

The entire sector, consisting over 1,200 garment, travel goods and footwear manufacturers, employs about one million workers, making it the largest employment segment in the country.

According to Ken Loo, GMAC secretary-general, an internal survey showed that some have started to temporarily suspend or reduce operations, sparking a serious concern in export orders in the second half.

The US is Cambodia’s main importer of garment, travel goods and footwear (GTF) sector, representing nearly 42 per cent of overall exports between January and July this year.

In that period, Cambodia exported 47.3 per cent more than last year, for a total value of $5.7 billion.

This was indicative of a recovery in the sector on the heels of Covid-19 despite the absence of the generalised system of preferences (GSP) for travel goods, such as luggage, handbags and purses, which has yet to be reinstated by the US.
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/as ... ing-orders