CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT, MANUFACTURERS PLEDGE CHILD

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 000911

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IL
LABOR FOR ILAB--VIVITA ROZENBERGS
GENEVA FOR RMA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PHUM ECON CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT, MANUFACTURERS PLEDGE CHILD
LABOR ACTION



1. (U) During a May 4 International Labor
Organization-International Program to End Child Labor
(ILO-IPEC) event to publicize the ILO's second report on
child labor, Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia
(GMAC) president Van Sou Ieng outlined GMAC's policy on child
labor. He said that any garment factory found to employ
underage workers must remove children from the factory, pay
for their tuition at a vocational training center, and pay
them a regular factory salary during their vocational
training. The factory must also agree to re-hire the workers
once they turn 15, the legal age for employment. Van Sou
Ieng threatened to publicly discredit any factory that fails
to follow this program.


2. (U) Minister of Labor Nhep Bunchin pledged to reduce
child labor by 10% over the next five years. (Comment: This
is a rather modest commitment given the ILO's goal of
eliminating child labor by 2016. End comment.) Nhep Bunchin
said that rates of child labor are dropping as parents
realize the value of education and send their children to
school rather than to work. He also lauded ILO-IPEC and RGC
efforts pilot efforts to eliminate child labor in rubber
plantations, brick making, and fishing sectors.


3. (U) In a private conversation with Econoff, Nhep Bunchin
said that new employees for the Department of Child
Labor--which was created in April 2005 but has only two staff
members and no budget--should be in place within a month.
However, Khy Sarin, Deputy Director of the Child Labor
Department, told Labor Assistant that only three to five
employees--out of more than 20 needed--will be appointed and
that the process will take 1-2 months or more.


4. (SBU) COMMENT: GMAC understands that the survival of
Cambodia's garment industry is predicated on high standards
for workers' rights and that a lax policy on child labor
would send many socially-conscious garment buyers packing.
With a surplus of adult workers looking for jobs, underage
labor is extremely rare in the garment sector. The few cases
documented by the ILO factory monitoring project involve
underage workers lying about their age and presenting fake
documents. Thus GMAC's aggressive policy--which was actually
put in to practice in an isolated incident several months
ago--is more about sending a strong signal to buyers than
about combating a significant problem. In contrast, the
government continues to take baby steps to address child
labor. Senior opposition official Mu Sochua equates the lack
of progress with a lack of government commitment to provide
the necessary funds for education and job creation that would
motivate parents to keep their children in school. The
Ministry of Labor has been weakened by its split from the
Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth
Rehabilitation more than two years ago and by its ineffective
FUNCINPEC leader in a CPP-dominated government. END COMMENT.
STORELLA