A firsthand look at garment workers in Southeast Asia
Focus on workers’ rights
Focus on workers’ rights
About 15 minutes after we arrived, eight garment workers from four different nearby factories made their way to the drop-in center. For about an hour, they
shared their individual stories of how they became factory workers and what their working conditions were. Six had made the trek from nearby villages in need
of work to help feed their families and to help send younger brothers or sisters to school. The other two lived in the city. They shared that even though the
monthly minimum wage in Cambodia is $50, they make about $80 a month because they work fast enough to exceed the sewing quotas of 400-500 pieces
per hour and a good work month can yield $110 with overtime. At the factory’s where they work, overtime isn’t forced but exceeding quotas is what provides for
the opportunity to get overtime. If sewing quotas aren’t made, workers usually get a warning from supervisors. The average work day with overtime was 12 hours
which, for most of the workers, was the norm. Those who had children rarely got to see them; sometimes they only saw them two or three times a year because
they were always working and had no money to travel back home. Their parents or grandparents cared for the children.
The garment workers shared that they like to go to the drop-in centers because they learn more about their rights and changes occurring in the industry.
They also get to learn about conditions in other factories and what other workers are doing to improve their situation. And most of all, the two group leaders,
Chrek and Ly, represent to the workers what is possible. Both Chrek and Ly were former factory workers who found a way to get better jobs, out of the industry.
The garment workers see them as role models. At the end of the meeting, we thanked the workers for meeting with us and sharing their stories. As a token of our
appreciation, we presented each worker with a bag of fruits and vegetables which cost two dollars —equivalent to one day’s wages.
The next morning, we met both Chrek Sophea and Ly Phearak, and other Women’s Agenda for Change staff members at their office. The WAC started in
1998 and became a locally run independent NGO in 2004. WAC is currently focused on three primary projects: The Garment Empowerment Project
described here; The Sex Worker Empowerment Project and The Globalization and Development Projects. Both Chrek and Ly are leaders in the Garment
Empowerment Project. In addition to the primary projects, the organization has a six-member messenger band whose singers create songs advocating for
better living, social and working conditions. Through song, they spread their message of change through the city and into rural communities. We had the
pleasure and good fortune to hear one of the songs at the meeting. As I listened, Sweet Honey and the Rock, Bob Marley, and Joan Baez immediately came
to mind as I thought about how they too, sang songs of change and social justice. I hope this country too can begin to experience change much like we have.
As I reflect on the trip, I am more determined than ever to use the firsthand knowledge I have gained to inform UW-Madison campus about realities in the field
and look at our policies closely to help garment workers abroad. I will also look more closely at things in my personal life to help improve labor rights for
workers both in the United States and abroad.
shared their individual stories of how they became factory workers and what their working conditions were. Six had made the trek from nearby villages in need
of work to help feed their families and to help send younger brothers or sisters to school. The other two lived in the city. They shared that even though the
monthly minimum wage in Cambodia is $50, they make about $80 a month because they work fast enough to exceed the sewing quotas of 400-500 pieces
per hour and a good work month can yield $110 with overtime. At the factory’s where they work, overtime isn’t forced but exceeding quotas is what provides for
the opportunity to get overtime. If sewing quotas aren’t made, workers usually get a warning from supervisors. The average work day with overtime was 12 hours
which, for most of the workers, was the norm. Those who had children rarely got to see them; sometimes they only saw them two or three times a year because
they were always working and had no money to travel back home. Their parents or grandparents cared for the children.
The garment workers shared that they like to go to the drop-in centers because they learn more about their rights and changes occurring in the industry.
They also get to learn about conditions in other factories and what other workers are doing to improve their situation. And most of all, the two group leaders,
Chrek and Ly, represent to the workers what is possible. Both Chrek and Ly were former factory workers who found a way to get better jobs, out of the industry.
The garment workers see them as role models. At the end of the meeting, we thanked the workers for meeting with us and sharing their stories. As a token of our
appreciation, we presented each worker with a bag of fruits and vegetables which cost two dollars —equivalent to one day’s wages.
The next morning, we met both Chrek Sophea and Ly Phearak, and other Women’s Agenda for Change staff members at their office. The WAC started in
1998 and became a locally run independent NGO in 2004. WAC is currently focused on three primary projects: The Garment Empowerment Project
described here; The Sex Worker Empowerment Project and The Globalization and Development Projects. Both Chrek and Ly are leaders in the Garment
Empowerment Project. In addition to the primary projects, the organization has a six-member messenger band whose singers create songs advocating for
better living, social and working conditions. Through song, they spread their message of change through the city and into rural communities. We had the
pleasure and good fortune to hear one of the songs at the meeting. As I listened, Sweet Honey and the Rock, Bob Marley, and Joan Baez immediately came
to mind as I thought about how they too, sang songs of change and social justice. I hope this country too can begin to experience change much like we have.
As I reflect on the trip, I am more determined than ever to use the firsthand knowledge I have gained to inform UW-Madison campus about realities in the field
and look at our policies closely to help garment workers abroad. I will also look more closely at things in my personal life to help improve labor rights for
workers both in the United States and abroad.
Above: Dawn Crim, Ly Phearak, Chrek Sophea and LaMarr Billups at
the Womyn’s Agenda for Change office in Cambodia.
Top: A working session with members of Womyn’s Agenda for Change
and the Workers Rights Consortium
the Womyn’s Agenda for Change office in Cambodia.
Top: A working session with members of Womyn’s Agenda for Change
and the Workers Rights Consortium
by Dawn Crim
I currently serve as the acting special assistant to the Chancellor for community
relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In my role, I am largely responsible for
local government and community relations, alcohol issues and labor licensing.
In April, I had an opportunity to visit Thailand and Cambodia with representatives from
six other universities and three staff members of a Washington, D.C.- based
organization, The Workers Rights Consortium (WRC). The purpose of our travel was to
learn first-hand about the garment industry in Southeast Asia and use that information
in relation with our labor policy on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. The
WRC is an independent labor-rights monitoring organization that conducts
investigations of working conditions in factories around the globe, with field staff based
in Southeast Asia. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a member of the Workers
Rights Consortium, because of UW’s commitment to help improve labor rights around
the world. The UW believes in WRC’s purpose to combat sweatshops and protect the
rights of workers who sew apparel and other products sold in the United States.
Over our seven-day trip, we met with many factory owners, garment workers (both
unionized and non-unionized) and their families at restaurants, dormitories and in their
homes — always away from the workplace for confidentiality reasons. We also met with
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with human rights missions, and we toured
many factories. The days were filled with meetings from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., but there is
one particular meeting and organization that has stayed in my mind. This meeting took
place at a drop-in center for the Womyn’s Agenda for Change (WAC), an NGO that
provides leadership training to women workers in Cambodia. Its goal is to address the
gender imbalance in union leadership in the country. The WAC runs seven drop-in
centers in total, located in neighborhoods within walking distance of large garment
factories, where women workers can meet and participate in activities such as receiving
information on making the transition from working in a rural community to working in the
city; basic country laws; and receiving education on workers’ rights in the factory where
they work.
It was 7:30 p.m., nearing dusk as our van winded down narrow neighborhood streets.
We were let off in an alley across from a makeshift store that someone set up on the
front porch of their home. People were peering out of their windows at us — nine
Americans visiting their neighborhood. We took a short walk past four houses into a yard
lead by two WAC workers, Chrek Sophea and Ly Phearak, both Junior program officers,
who had spent the afternoon with us, giving us a tour of the market place where
garment workers shopped. They knocked on a door of a house to get the key to the drop-
in center located on the second floor of the house. The organization rented the second
floor of the house. We took our shoes off and climbed the stairs into a large room,
resembling the size of a rustic family cabin, with a lighted ceiling fan overhead and
eight grass mats on the floor stitched together to make a rug. There was a book shelf
with materials and human rights posters on the walls. From the windows, we could see
into the neighboring dirt yards where kids played and parents sat trying to cool off from
the 95-degree day.
I currently serve as the acting special assistant to the Chancellor for community
relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In my role, I am largely responsible for
local government and community relations, alcohol issues and labor licensing.
In April, I had an opportunity to visit Thailand and Cambodia with representatives from
six other universities and three staff members of a Washington, D.C.- based
organization, The Workers Rights Consortium (WRC). The purpose of our travel was to
learn first-hand about the garment industry in Southeast Asia and use that information
in relation with our labor policy on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. The
WRC is an independent labor-rights monitoring organization that conducts
investigations of working conditions in factories around the globe, with field staff based
in Southeast Asia. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a member of the Workers
Rights Consortium, because of UW’s commitment to help improve labor rights around
the world. The UW believes in WRC’s purpose to combat sweatshops and protect the
rights of workers who sew apparel and other products sold in the United States.
Over our seven-day trip, we met with many factory owners, garment workers (both
unionized and non-unionized) and their families at restaurants, dormitories and in their
homes — always away from the workplace for confidentiality reasons. We also met with
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with human rights missions, and we toured
many factories. The days were filled with meetings from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., but there is
one particular meeting and organization that has stayed in my mind. This meeting took
place at a drop-in center for the Womyn’s Agenda for Change (WAC), an NGO that
provides leadership training to women workers in Cambodia. Its goal is to address the
gender imbalance in union leadership in the country. The WAC runs seven drop-in
centers in total, located in neighborhoods within walking distance of large garment
factories, where women workers can meet and participate in activities such as receiving
information on making the transition from working in a rural community to working in the
city; basic country laws; and receiving education on workers’ rights in the factory where
they work.
It was 7:30 p.m., nearing dusk as our van winded down narrow neighborhood streets.
We were let off in an alley across from a makeshift store that someone set up on the
front porch of their home. People were peering out of their windows at us — nine
Americans visiting their neighborhood. We took a short walk past four houses into a yard
lead by two WAC workers, Chrek Sophea and Ly Phearak, both Junior program officers,
who had spent the afternoon with us, giving us a tour of the market place where
garment workers shopped. They knocked on a door of a house to get the key to the drop-
in center located on the second floor of the house. The organization rented the second
floor of the house. We took our shoes off and climbed the stairs into a large room,
resembling the size of a rustic family cabin, with a lighted ceiling fan overhead and
eight grass mats on the floor stitched together to make a rug. There was a book shelf
with materials and human rights posters on the walls. From the windows, we could see
into the neighboring dirt yards where kids played and parents sat trying to cool off from
the 95-degree day.