[PHNOM PENH POST]
Cambodian migrant workers to South Korea increased by about 135 per cent
in 2011, making Cambodian nationals the fourth-biggest migrant worker
population in the East Asian country.
A recently expired ban on
Vietnamese and Indonesian workers in South Korea accounted for the
increased demand for labour from countries in the region, Cambodian
labour officials said.
The Kingdom sent 4,957 workers to South
Korea last year, a large increase on the 2,116 sent the year before.
Nepalese and Bengladeshi migrant workers are the most populous.
“We
had a sharp increase last year because the Korean government had
temporarily stopped receiving workers from Vietnam and Indonesia after
they found irregularities in the examinations there,” said Heng Sour,
the chief of overseas manpower at the Ministry of Labour and Vocational
Training.
Showing posts with label HR and Labour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HR and Labour. Show all posts
January 27, 2012
January 24, 2012
Garment firms shifting base from China to Cambodia
[Fibre2fashion.com]
Abundant supply of labour coupled with preferential market access to several markets is making the Southeast Asian nation of Cambodia one of the preferred alternatives for garment companies wishing to shift their manufacturing base outside China.
Wages in China have risen by 18-20 percent annually during the past three years, leading to an increase in the cost of production, and making several units less competitive in the international market. This has induced many garment companies to search for alternative bases outside China.
On the other hand, Cambodia’s garment industry has grown substantially over the last year. Around 300 licensed garment firms in the Kingdom exported US$ 3.3 billion worth of goods in the initial 10 months of 2011, a jump of 35 percent year-on-year, according to Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC).
Mr. Ken Loo, Secretary General of GMAC, told fibre2fashion, “Cambodia is well positioned to take advantage of the exodus of investors and buyers looking to exit China. Firstly, there is an abundant supply of labour and there are no other industries in Cambodia that would compete with the garment industry for absorbing labour.”
Abundant supply of labour coupled with preferential market access to several markets is making the Southeast Asian nation of Cambodia one of the preferred alternatives for garment companies wishing to shift their manufacturing base outside China.
Wages in China have risen by 18-20 percent annually during the past three years, leading to an increase in the cost of production, and making several units less competitive in the international market. This has induced many garment companies to search for alternative bases outside China.
On the other hand, Cambodia’s garment industry has grown substantially over the last year. Around 300 licensed garment firms in the Kingdom exported US$ 3.3 billion worth of goods in the initial 10 months of 2011, a jump of 35 percent year-on-year, according to Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC).
Mr. Ken Loo, Secretary General of GMAC, told fibre2fashion, “Cambodia is well positioned to take advantage of the exodus of investors and buyers looking to exit China. Firstly, there is an abundant supply of labour and there are no other industries in Cambodia that would compete with the garment industry for absorbing labour.”
December 15, 2011
Cambodian garment workers urged to raise productivity
Productivity expert at Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour, An Tahi Socheat, said garment factories in the country are competing with other countries from the region where they have higher skilled workers.
Speaking at a seminar on skill promotion in garment industry, Mr. Socheat said employers may consider to increase salaries of the workers if their productivity level improves and hence those seeking higher wages must raise their productivity levels.
Besides employers, the seminar was attended by representatives of the Garment Manufacturing Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and Government officials.
In response, GMAC’s Business Development Manager Kaing Monika said the GMAC would introduce more skills training programmes for the benefit of garment workers in the country.
December 12, 2011
Cambodia to send labour to Qatar
[PHNOM PENH POST]
The government has approved Qatar as a destination for the growing number of Cambodian labourers seeking employment overseas.
Workers will not be recruited for housekeeping services, however, private sector officials said. The abuse of maids in Malaysia – many of whom were reportedly under-aged – has brought much scrutiny to the recruiting agencies that sent the women abroad.
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday approved the agreement on domestic labour with Qatar that the two governments originally endorsed in 2008.
A statement from the Council of Ministers said the agreement would promote a higher level of private-sector cooperation between Cambodia and the gulf state, something in line with the Kingdom’s goals for globalisation. It would also curb illegal migration and mitigate the risk of a domestic labour shortage, the statement said.
The government has approved Qatar as a destination for the growing number of Cambodian labourers seeking employment overseas.
Workers will not be recruited for housekeeping services, however, private sector officials said. The abuse of maids in Malaysia – many of whom were reportedly under-aged – has brought much scrutiny to the recruiting agencies that sent the women abroad.
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday approved the agreement on domestic labour with Qatar that the two governments originally endorsed in 2008.
A statement from the Council of Ministers said the agreement would promote a higher level of private-sector cooperation between Cambodia and the gulf state, something in line with the Kingdom’s goals for globalisation. It would also curb illegal migration and mitigate the risk of a domestic labour shortage, the statement said.
December 9, 2011
Over 1,500 Cambodian workers faint this year due to poor working environment
[XINHUA]
PHNOM PENH, Dec. 9 -- More than 1,500 Cambodian workers in garment and shoe factories have fainted within this year due mainly to overwork, poor health, exposure to chemical substances, and hysteria, said a senior government official on Friday. "Fainting incidents started occurring often and repeatedly this year," Say Siphonn, secretary of state for the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, said in a meeting on findings the fact of the mass fainting in garment and shoe factories.
"More than 1,500 workers in a dozen of garment and footwear factories had fainted so far this year," he said."Mass fainting incident is case that can affect our garment industry which is the country's largest income earner."
The causes of incidents included more hours of over-time working, chemical substances in cloths, smell of insecticides, heat, bad working environment, workers' malnutrition, and panic, he added.
The meeting, organized by the International Labor Organization (ILO), was attended by stakeholders from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), buyers' representatives, unions, and non- governmental organizations.
PHNOM PENH, Dec. 9 -- More than 1,500 Cambodian workers in garment and shoe factories have fainted within this year due mainly to overwork, poor health, exposure to chemical substances, and hysteria, said a senior government official on Friday. "Fainting incidents started occurring often and repeatedly this year," Say Siphonn, secretary of state for the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, said in a meeting on findings the fact of the mass fainting in garment and shoe factories.
"More than 1,500 workers in a dozen of garment and footwear factories had fainted so far this year," he said."Mass fainting incident is case that can affect our garment industry which is the country's largest income earner."
The causes of incidents included more hours of over-time working, chemical substances in cloths, smell of insecticides, heat, bad working environment, workers' malnutrition, and panic, he added.
The meeting, organized by the International Labor Organization (ILO), was attended by stakeholders from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), buyers' representatives, unions, and non- governmental organizations.
November 30, 2011
Cambodian garment workers strike at big brand supplier
[REUTERS]
Cambodian garment workers went on strike on Monday at a factory producing clothing for global brands Gap, J.C. Penney (JCP.N) and Old Navy, demanding that the plant reinstates suspended trade union representatives.
Garment-making has been Cambodia's main manufacturing industry as it recovers from decades of conflict. Last year, the sector grew 28 percent and contributed more than $3 billion towards the country's $11 billion economy.
It employs 300,000 people, many of them women, at scores of factories, owned mostly by Chinese and Taiwanese companies but it has seen its share of industrial action over pay and conditions.
The president of the Workers Friendship Union Federation said the strike would go on until the South Korean-owned factory, Cambo Handsome Ltd, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, took back three union representatives suspended after one of them was accused of stealing two T-shirts.
Cambodian garment workers went on strike on Monday at a factory producing clothing for global brands Gap, J.C. Penney (JCP.N) and Old Navy, demanding that the plant reinstates suspended trade union representatives.
Garment-making has been Cambodia's main manufacturing industry as it recovers from decades of conflict. Last year, the sector grew 28 percent and contributed more than $3 billion towards the country's $11 billion economy.
It employs 300,000 people, many of them women, at scores of factories, owned mostly by Chinese and Taiwanese companies but it has seen its share of industrial action over pay and conditions.
The president of the Workers Friendship Union Federation said the strike would go on until the South Korean-owned factory, Cambo Handsome Ltd, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, took back three union representatives suspended after one of them was accused of stealing two T-shirts.
November 29, 2011
Cambodian garment workers strike at big brand supplier
[THE STRAITS TIMES]
PHNOM PENH - About 1,000 Cambodian garment workers went on strike on Monday at a factory producing clothing for global brands Gap, J.C. Penny and Old Navy, demanding that the plant reinstates suspended trade union representatives.
Garment-making has been Cambodia's main manufacturing industry as it recovers from decades of conflict. Last year, the sector grew 28 per cent and contributed more than US$3 billion (S$3.9 billion) towards the country's US$11 billion economy.
It employs 300,000 people, many of them women, at scores of factories, owned mostly by Chinese and Taiwanese companies but it has seen its share of industrial action over pay and conditions.
The president of the Workers Friendship Union Federation said the strike would go on until the South Korean-owned factory, Cambo Handsome, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, took back three union representatives suspended after being accused of stealing two T-shirts.
PHNOM PENH - About 1,000 Cambodian garment workers went on strike on Monday at a factory producing clothing for global brands Gap, J.C. Penny and Old Navy, demanding that the plant reinstates suspended trade union representatives.
Garment-making has been Cambodia's main manufacturing industry as it recovers from decades of conflict. Last year, the sector grew 28 per cent and contributed more than US$3 billion (S$3.9 billion) towards the country's US$11 billion economy.
It employs 300,000 people, many of them women, at scores of factories, owned mostly by Chinese and Taiwanese companies but it has seen its share of industrial action over pay and conditions.
The president of the Workers Friendship Union Federation said the strike would go on until the South Korean-owned factory, Cambo Handsome, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, took back three union representatives suspended after being accused of stealing two T-shirts.
November 23, 2011
Cambodia: enjoying China’s long shadow
Cambodia closes maid centres
[The Star Online]
KUALA LUMPUR: All Cambodian training centres for domestic workers bound for Malaysia have been shut down and the maids sent home, leaving little hope of any maids coming here from the country.
Malaysian employers and agencies, which have already paid for the maids, are now in a quandary.
The 36 centres in Cambodia had been ordered by the authorities there to be shut down until a mechanism was found to protect the maids, said the Malaysian National Association of Employment Agencies (Pikap).
The maids, who had returned to their villages, include the 3,500 who had already been “booked” and paid for by prospective employers.
On Oct 14, it was announced that Cambodia would no longer send its workers here.
The decision came as a severe blow to local maid agencies.
KUALA LUMPUR: All Cambodian training centres for domestic workers bound for Malaysia have been shut down and the maids sent home, leaving little hope of any maids coming here from the country.
Malaysian employers and agencies, which have already paid for the maids, are now in a quandary.
The 36 centres in Cambodia had been ordered by the authorities there to be shut down until a mechanism was found to protect the maids, said the Malaysian National Association of Employment Agencies (Pikap).
The maids, who had returned to their villages, include the 3,500 who had already been “booked” and paid for by prospective employers.
On Oct 14, it was announced that Cambodia would no longer send its workers here.
The decision came as a severe blow to local maid agencies.
November 1, 2011
Cambodia seeks to uplift workers as it sets up college
Instead the rows of students are bright-eyed, alert and turned out in eye-catching white-and-orange polo shirts.
They respond eagerly to the teacher's prompts and questions, occasionally breaking into good-natured laughter.
The bonhomie is all the more impressive considering this is a Sunday and classes started not long after six in the morning.
October 25, 2011
About 130 garment workers fainted after inhaling pesticides
[XINHUA]
PHNOM PENH -- At least 130 garment workers were admitted to hospitals on Monday afternoon after they fainted due to the inhalation of insecticide smell, a trade union chief and police confirmed Tuesday.
Chuon Mon Thol, President of Cambodia's Confederation of Trade Unions, said the incident occurred at Anful Garments Factory in Kampong Speu province's Samrong Tong district, some 50 kilometers, western Phnom Penh.
"The accident happened due to the carelessness of the factory' s management," he said. "They sprayed pesticides in the factory just a few hours before the workers entered the factory hall to work, so the smell caused them to fall ill," he said. "They had fatigue, dizziness and vomit."
He said that the factory has about 2,000 workers. However, only 130 workers were fainted and hospitalized according to the payment bills for the medical cost by the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training.
PHNOM PENH -- At least 130 garment workers were admitted to hospitals on Monday afternoon after they fainted due to the inhalation of insecticide smell, a trade union chief and police confirmed Tuesday.
Chuon Mon Thol, President of Cambodia's Confederation of Trade Unions, said the incident occurred at Anful Garments Factory in Kampong Speu province's Samrong Tong district, some 50 kilometers, western Phnom Penh.
"The accident happened due to the carelessness of the factory' s management," he said. "They sprayed pesticides in the factory just a few hours before the workers entered the factory hall to work, so the smell caused them to fall ill," he said. "They had fatigue, dizziness and vomit."
He said that the factory has about 2,000 workers. However, only 130 workers were fainted and hospitalized according to the payment bills for the medical cost by the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training.
October 21, 2011
Maid ban finally complete
[PHNOM PENH POST]
The Association of Cambodian Recruitment Agencies announced a temporary ban on the sending of all domestic workers to Malaysia amidst another under-age trainee scandal – this one involving a firm owned by the wife of a senior member of Cambodia’s international police department.
On Monday, the Ministry of Labour gave recruitment firms permission to send already contracted domestic workers with travel documents to Malaysia, contradicting a blanket suspension announced by Prime Minster Hun Sen three days prior.
On Monday, the Ministry of Labour gave recruitment firms permission to send already contracted domestic workers with travel documents to Malaysia, contradicting a blanket suspension announced by Prime Minster Hun Sen three days prior.
October 12, 2011
Invest in training young people
[PHNOM PENH POST]
The country manager for Jebsen & Jessen in Cambodia says Southeast
Asia’s 500 million population and annual growth rate of 6 to 8 per cent
per year for the last 10 years means investment in training of
Cambodians is most likely to bear fruit in the coming years.
“We invest in staff training and development and try to combine our expertise in technology with their knowledge of the local market,” said Austrian Alfons Mensdorff, 30, who opened Jebsen & Jessen’s Cambodia office seven months ago in February.
“Since then from a team perspective we have hired another five motivated Cambodian individuals that are now being placed in various business units. We have a young energetic team of one hundred percent Cambodians,” he said.
In this first period, Mensdorff says, his business has exceeded expectations.
 |
| Alfons Mensdorff |
“We invest in staff training and development and try to combine our expertise in technology with their knowledge of the local market,” said Austrian Alfons Mensdorff, 30, who opened Jebsen & Jessen’s Cambodia office seven months ago in February.
“Since then from a team perspective we have hired another five motivated Cambodian individuals that are now being placed in various business units. We have a young energetic team of one hundred percent Cambodians,” he said.
In this first period, Mensdorff says, his business has exceeded expectations.
October 11, 2011
Skirmish as factory strike continues
[PHNOM PENH POST]
MORE than 4,000 workers at M&V Manufacturing International’s garment factory in Kampong Chhnang province continued to strike for a fourth day yesterday, as a union president urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to force the company to reinstate 20 fired workers.
Free Trade Union president Chea Mony wrote to Hun Sen to inform him that the employees had been “illegally dismissed” because they had joined the FTU to protest for better working conditions after two mass fainting incidents at the factory in August.
The faintings sparked investigations by the International Labour Organisation’s Better Factories program, which monitors the factory, and international brand H&M, which buys apparel from it.
In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Post, Chea Mony also urged the premier to ensure the Macau-owned company “stopped discriminating against the union’s freedom”.
MORE than 4,000 workers at M&V Manufacturing International’s garment factory in Kampong Chhnang province continued to strike for a fourth day yesterday, as a union president urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to force the company to reinstate 20 fired workers.
Free Trade Union president Chea Mony wrote to Hun Sen to inform him that the employees had been “illegally dismissed” because they had joined the FTU to protest for better working conditions after two mass fainting incidents at the factory in August.
The faintings sparked investigations by the International Labour Organisation’s Better Factories program, which monitors the factory, and international brand H&M, which buys apparel from it.
In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Post, Chea Mony also urged the premier to ensure the Macau-owned company “stopped discriminating against the union’s freedom”.
October 6, 2011
New look, new identity, same values for high-tech educator
[PHNOM PENH POST]
A new look and a new identity but the same values. CIST – the Centre for
Information Systems Training – which was launched in 2005 in Cambodia
to provide disadvantaged students with IT training and qualifications,
will now be known as Passerelles Numeriques Cambodia.
A new forward-looking logo has also been launched and the changes also relate to the centres in the Philippines, started in 2009, and Vietnam, which began operating in 2010 in Da Nang.
A new forward-looking logo has also been launched and the changes also relate to the centres in the Philippines, started in 2009, and Vietnam, which began operating in 2010 in Da Nang.
Luxury hotel ‘breaking law’
[PHNOM PENH POST]
The Angkor Village Hotel and Resort is breaking the law by refusing to
reinstate 67 sacked workers that the Arbitration Council ruled were
unlawfully dismissed, Siem Reap’s deputy governor claimed yesterday.
After attending a protest of hotel workers and supporters outside the hotel in Siem Reap town yesterday, Kim Chhay Heang said company owner Tep Vantho had simply ignored orders from his office to abide by an Arbitration Council decision and Cambodian law.
After attending a protest of hotel workers and supporters outside the hotel in Siem Reap town yesterday, Kim Chhay Heang said company owner Tep Vantho had simply ignored orders from his office to abide by an Arbitration Council decision and Cambodian law.
October 5, 2011
Five underage girls removed from firm
[PHNOM PENH POST]
Five underage girls were among 26 women removed from a labour recruitment firm yesterday evening by military police in the capital, with officials arresting two company employees and seeking the arrest of the firm’s owner.
Sen Sok district military police chief Kith Sophal said that police had arrested two employees at the Century (Cambodia) Manpower Company training centre in the district’s Teuk Thla commune, but the company owner had escaped.
“We are seeking to arrest the owner of the company,” he said. Kith Sophal added that five girls between the ages of 13 and 17 were removed from the training centre.
“We went to check in the Century (Cambodia) Manpower Company in cooperation with [NGO] Action Pour Les Enfants and we rescued 26 women, some of whom were cheated by the [company] broker in order to work in Malaysia as maids,” he said.
Five underage girls were among 26 women removed from a labour recruitment firm yesterday evening by military police in the capital, with officials arresting two company employees and seeking the arrest of the firm’s owner.
Sen Sok district military police chief Kith Sophal said that police had arrested two employees at the Century (Cambodia) Manpower Company training centre in the district’s Teuk Thla commune, but the company owner had escaped.
“We are seeking to arrest the owner of the company,” he said. Kith Sophal added that five girls between the ages of 13 and 17 were removed from the training centre.
“We went to check in the Century (Cambodia) Manpower Company in cooperation with [NGO] Action Pour Les Enfants and we rescued 26 women, some of whom were cheated by the [company] broker in order to work in Malaysia as maids,” he said.
September 28, 2011
Putting a premium on education in Cambodia
[CNN BUSINESS 360]
Labor costs in Cambodia are cheaper than China, Vietnam or Thailand. That has helped foreign companies like U.S. stuffed toy maker "First & Main" stay profitable, but the biggest challenge for many businesses is finding an educated workforce for more skilled jobs.
Can Cambodia’s education system keep pace with the ambitions of businesses and investors and continue to foster a growing middle class?
Labor costs in Cambodia are cheaper than China, Vietnam or Thailand. That has helped foreign companies like U.S. stuffed toy maker "First & Main" stay profitable, but the biggest challenge for many businesses is finding an educated workforce for more skilled jobs.
Can Cambodia’s education system keep pace with the ambitions of businesses and investors and continue to foster a growing middle class?
September 22, 2011
Eximbank supports Korea-Cambodia ties
[THE KOREA HERALD]
The Export-Import Bank of Korea has taken the lead in enhancing tie-ups for development projects between Korea and Cambodia.
Under initiative of chairman & CEO Kim Yong-hwan, the state-run bank met to map out further development of the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, Thursday.
After Korea Eximbank and the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of Korea pushed to enhance what was then a vocational training center by providing loans, the Cambodian government upgraded it to the status of a national college.
 |
| The National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia |
Under initiative of chairman & CEO Kim Yong-hwan, the state-run bank met to map out further development of the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, Thursday.
After Korea Eximbank and the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of Korea pushed to enhance what was then a vocational training center by providing loans, the Cambodian government upgraded it to the status of a national college.
World Bank highlights wage gains
[PHNOM PENH POST]
The wages and working conditions of garment factory workers in Cambodia are at or above the national average, a report from the World Bank has found.
The report, released last Monday, examines gender and equality issues in developing countries and found that in an increasingly integrated global economy, the movement of production to poorer countries could have a positive impact on wages, citing Cambodia as an example.
Dave Welsh, country director of the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity, said it was “probably true” that wages were at or above the national average in the Kingdom.
“But the report seems to ignore other legal violations such as the proliferation of short term and fixed duration contracts,” he said. “These contracts do not give workers any job security. The government knows this and the factories know this.”
The wages and working conditions of garment factory workers in Cambodia are at or above the national average, a report from the World Bank has found.
The report, released last Monday, examines gender and equality issues in developing countries and found that in an increasingly integrated global economy, the movement of production to poorer countries could have a positive impact on wages, citing Cambodia as an example.
Dave Welsh, country director of the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity, said it was “probably true” that wages were at or above the national average in the Kingdom.
“But the report seems to ignore other legal violations such as the proliferation of short term and fixed duration contracts,” he said. “These contracts do not give workers any job security. The government knows this and the factories know this.”
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