"Government support for workers during Covid-19 insufficient", 01 May 2020

The Cambodian Government, like many, was slow to react to the COVID-19 spread, though their initial response was more dismissive than most...

Companies such as H&M and VF Corporation guaranteed payment for orders completed and in production, helping workers quickly receive wages. Some brands, such as PVH, requested extended payment terms, whilst others, like C&A cancelled all orders up until June without payment (but has since claimed to have reinstated 93% of these orders)...

..., the Ministry announced that more than 130 garment factories had suspended operations, affecting nearly 100,000 workers, whilst claiming only six factories had closed because of the virus, with more than 6000 workers affected...

..., the Prime Minister announced that suspended garment workers would receive 40% ($76) of their $190 monthly minimum wage from their employers, whilst the Government would provide an additional 20% ($38). Employers very quickly claimed they could not afford to continue paying 40% as ordered and demanded changes..., the Prime Minister did just that...

It is alarmingly clear that the current Government provisions are insufficient for dealing with the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. Providing workers with allowances less than the poverty line, whilst simultaneously denying them to hundreds of thousands of people also out of work, will serve only to heighten workers’ vulnerabilities and plunge already indebted families further into debt...

The Cambodian Government urgently needs to adopt a proper long-term strategy that first and foremostly serves working people’s interests. Government allowances must be increased so as to allow suspended and terminated workers and their families to live with dignity during the crisis...