.: WOMYN'S AGENDA FOR CHANGE :.

WAC currently supports four drop-in centres. In the second half of the year, workers set up two new drop-in centres in Mean Chey and Toul Sangke in addition to maintaining the centres in Teouk Tla and Dang Kor. The Bak Kheng drop-in center closed down in April of 2005 due to the factory closings after the end of the quota which left no workers in the area to participate in the centre’s activities. The centres are located in areas where there is a high concentration of worker housing and factories. In each of the four drop-in centres there are documents on the Cambodian Labour Code and IEC material as well as materials on labour rights, the conditionality imposed on Cambodia by International Financial Institutions [World Bank/IMF], “10 Things You Should Know About the World Bank,” and other legal books related to the garment industry. Workers can participate and provide feedback on issues during group workshops and sharing sessions. These issues are also discussed among workers and key organizers at each of the centers. The knowledge is internalized and is further spread to other co-workers to help others understand the root causes of many of their problems and where those conditions come from. Workers can read these resources when they come to the centres during their free time and on weekends. In some drop-in centres, workers who have studied English hold free English classes to teach their friends during the evenings. They encourage more workers to become aware of the centres and the opportunities they provide and come use the resources for their own benefit and capacity building.

Key organizers from five drop-in-centers held workshops in their respective centers at least every month to share knowledge and experiences on the impact of the MFA phase-out, the situation of women in Cambodia, gender and the environment, globalization issues, and the labor code. About 561 workers participated in these sessions over the past six months. One such workshop was on the environment, gender, and globalization. The goal of this workshop was to raise worker’s awareness of the impact of globalization on the environment and its implications for gender. We discussed the disproportionate victimization of women and children as a result of the policies of IMF, World Bank, and the WTO.

Two garment workers gave a presentation to UNIFAM of UNDP on the impact of the MFA phase-out. They presented their concerns about factory closings, unemployment, and worsening working conditions. They also voiced their anxiety about competing with other countries and large transnational corporations in a market with such dramatic winners and losers. The workers of Cambodia are very concerned about the exploitation and working conditions that accompany this kind of competition. In this big forum, workers got the chance to voice out their concerns and fear of job loss in front of government representatives from Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Women Affairs, GMAC.

Our research on the post-MFA period shows many problems occurring after factories close down and workers face job loss. Different institutions see the impact of the end of the MFA on workers differently. WAC, in collaboration with workers from each drop-in center, has observed this impact on workers and their families. The workers looked at changes in terms of labour force, working conditions, and management tactics used with the workers when they close or suspend their operation. They also worked with the WAC team to collect 55 case studies from interviews with workers at either the drop-in centers or their rented rooms. By looking at individual case studies, we are able to gather personal information to develop a full picture of workers’ lives post-phase-out. From that we are able to analyze their social, living, and working conditions.

The Sam Han factory closed earlier this year when the factory owner left the country without paying compensation to its 9,000 workers. The workers came to WAC to organize their complaints to send to parliamentarians. WAC helped the workers submit their complaints. The case has gone through many stages involving the union, the federation, the workers, and other parties. When a compensation offer was made to the workers, they again came to WAC for support in negotiating the terms of the offer. WAC provided a legal consultant who worked with the workers to prepare them to meet with their lawyer. Unfortunately, the lawyer resisted meeting with workers in the first place then, during the meeting, told workers they were not allowed to make requests and not ask questions. She also told them they should accept the $27 compensation offer, otherwise they would regret it for the rest of their lives. Many workers feel that they need to reject the offer for the sake of other workers and show that this offer is an insult and that they should demand the respect and compensation that they deserve.