"Poor ventilation, anxiety blamed for mass fainting in factory", 09 June 2020

Twenty-three workers from the electrical equipment factory T.Y. Electric Co Ltd, in Svay Rieng province’s GIGA Resource special economic zone, collapsed ..., bringing the total fainting figure to 72 ...

The workers were later sent to the provincial referral hospital, following the recovery of 49 other workers who fainted ...

“Based on the evaluation of the inspection team deployed at the factory, the mass fainting resulted from poor ventilation in the building, panic and anxiety caused by the fainting spell and pre-existing medical conditions,” provincial labour department director Ou Sokhoeun said ...

As such, the inspection team advised the factory to improve air circulation and ventilation in the facility and allow the workers to take a rest until the end of the week...

Cambodian Labour Confederation president Ath Thorn said ... that despite the creation of measures that seek to address mass fainting in factories, the implementation of such has not been effective as some factories fail to abide by the occupational health and safety standards set forth by the Labour Ministry.

... A report from the National Social Security Fund published ... said cases of fainting have been reported in 11 factories across the Kingdom last year, of which 831 workers collapsed – equivalent to over a 60-percent decline compared with 2018’s 17 factories.

It noted that a majority of the cases were psychosocial and stress-related, while the rest were from chemical fumes, limited ventilation and from working overtime.