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Bodies join hands to stop child labour in Cambodian units
17 Dec '14
2 min read
Three bodies are getting together to abolish child labour from the Cambodian garment industry.
The International Labour Organization (ILO), Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) and the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) will sign an agreement aimed at abolishing child labour.
The agreement emphasizes collaboration between GMAC and BFC in the process of identifying and remediating any confirmed cases of child labour.
When workers under the age of 15 are identified, they will be offered access to suitable vocational training institutes and are paid the equivalent of their average monthly factory pay until they reach 15.
GMAC will ensure financial support for age confirmation and remediation costs from its member factories.
The effective elimination of child labour in the garment industry is a goal of the ILO and ILO-BFC’s tripartite partners – the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), GMAC and unions.
Ith Sam Heng, minister of Labour and Vocational Training, has previously reaffirmed the government’s commitment to combating child labour.
This includes its goals of reducing the incidence of child labour in all sectors across Cambodia from 16.5 per cent in 1999 to 8 per cent by 2015 and of eliminating child labour completely by 2016.
Heng had also highlighted the importance of collective action in order that the Cambodian garment industry is able to protect the brand name “Made in Cambodia”.
Van Sou Ieng, chairman of GMAC says: “We have a zero tolerance policy towards child labour and have been working very closely with Better Factories Cambodia over the past 14 years in this regard.”
“This agreement further solidifies our commitment and provides a positive remediation for those underage workers that slip through the crack and are found working in our member factories,” he adds.
Jill Tucker, program manager of the BFC program notes, “BFC’s monitoring has noticed a decline in the cases of confirmed child labour in 2014 compared to 2013.”
“While this trend is encouraging, we are thankful that GMAC and its members continue to focus on this issue and collaborate with BFC to assist those underage workers,” he informs. (AR)
The International Labour Organization (ILO), Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) and the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) will sign an agreement aimed at abolishing child labour.
The agreement emphasizes collaboration between GMAC and BFC in the process of identifying and remediating any confirmed cases of child labour.
When workers under the age of 15 are identified, they will be offered access to suitable vocational training institutes and are paid the equivalent of their average monthly factory pay until they reach 15.
GMAC will ensure financial support for age confirmation and remediation costs from its member factories.
The effective elimination of child labour in the garment industry is a goal of the ILO and ILO-BFC’s tripartite partners – the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), GMAC and unions.
Ith Sam Heng, minister of Labour and Vocational Training, has previously reaffirmed the government’s commitment to combating child labour.
This includes its goals of reducing the incidence of child labour in all sectors across Cambodia from 16.5 per cent in 1999 to 8 per cent by 2015 and of eliminating child labour completely by 2016.
Heng had also highlighted the importance of collective action in order that the Cambodian garment industry is able to protect the brand name “Made in Cambodia”.
Van Sou Ieng, chairman of GMAC says: “We have a zero tolerance policy towards child labour and have been working very closely with Better Factories Cambodia over the past 14 years in this regard.”
“This agreement further solidifies our commitment and provides a positive remediation for those underage workers that slip through the crack and are found working in our member factories,” he adds.
Jill Tucker, program manager of the BFC program notes, “BFC’s monitoring has noticed a decline in the cases of confirmed child labour in 2014 compared to 2013.”
“While this trend is encouraging, we are thankful that GMAC and its members continue to focus on this issue and collaborate with BFC to assist those underage workers,” he informs. (AR)
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