Women Garment Workers and the Impact of Trade Liberalization in Cambodia

On 14 January 2005, Ms. Noeleen Heyzer, UNIFEM Executive Director, chaired a multi-stakeholder policy dialogue organized by the UNDP-UNIFEM Gender and MDGs Project in collaboration with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training. The speakers included H.E. Nheb Bunchin, Minister of Labor and Vocational Training, H.E. Sok Siphana, Ministry of Commerce, Mike Bird from Oxfam, UK, Sok Hack from the Economic Institute of Cambodia, and women garment workers and industry representatives.

The garment sector is the main source of waged work for Cambodian women and employs 180,000 young women, most from rural areas.  They earn incomes of $50-75 and remit $15-30 each month to their families.  Up to 1.5 million people are supported by the garment industry.  Up to 50,000 jobs may be lost as the sector enters a period of turbulence, potentially affecting up to 200,000 households. An additional 150,000 or more informal sector jobs may also be affected.

Discussions focused on the experience of the young women who go to work in Cambodia’s cities, the likely future of the industry, and the current response and possible actions by government, donors and the garment industry.  Participants also spoke about the need to focus on women’s economic empowerment across sectors and industries and to focus on decent work for women in both the formal and informal economies.  The policy dialogue was an important first step in getting the issue on the national agenda and bringing stakeholders together to discuss the needs of women garment workers.

Trade liberalization is an international issue, and the future of the Cambodian garment sector will be determined by international as well as national responses. Ms Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of UNIFEM, stressed the need to engage with regional and international networks focusing on the issue of globalization and its impacts on women, to ensure Cambodia can draw on this experience, and Cambodia’s voice is heard in international forums.  Participants also agreed that a series of policy dialogues would be of benefit, and would provide a voice for all stakeholders, ensure action is taken and monitor progress towards Cambodia’s development goals.

“All stakeholders, including governments, factory management, garment workers, INGOs and NGOs, and the buyers themselves have a responsibility to work together to plan for these changes and ensure action is taken to support the women workers who have made such a significant contribution to Cambodia’s economy.” Ms Heyzer said.

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Updated: 17 January 2005