Response 1 – Introduce new Fair Trade factories and Fair Trade programs into existing factories.
Over the recent years, fair trade for ethical production of goods have swept over many global industries, from coffee and tea to toys. The garment industries of many nations have also been reshaped to the standards of fair trade to ensure ethical and respectful treatment of factory workers. However, in Cambodia, a factory which functions under fair trade standards is quite a rare find.
Implementing fair trade factories in Cambodia could solve a number of issues that arise with trying to improve the working conditions in garment factories. For example, the closure of many factories is inevitable if wages are raised past the factory’s financial capacity or if companies withdraw their contracts from Cambodia. These factories would be replaced by fair trade factories that would supply to the brands which contracted production to the previous establishment. The implementation of fair trade factories would most likely not deter large companies from continuing the production of their goods in Cambodia, as it is stated that the profits brought in from production can subsidise the workers’ request for a $177 per month minimum wage rise, but factory management chooses to ignore this for means of personal gain. If under a fair trade management program, personal profit would not be a highly considered concern and workers would be able to receive the wage to sustain the bare necessities of living, while maintaining the same purchasing price for brands and companies. Treatment of workers will also be drastically improved as fair trade standards provide a safe work environment and do not compromise the workers’ health as a means of maximising profits. And, by opening more fair trade factories in Cambodia, workers will be less intimidated by fear of retrenchment from their current employer and can understand their rights as they will have more options than to endure inhumane treatment at the workplace as a source of income.
Groups that will be positively affected by this solution would be the workers as they will receive ethical treatment with respect for human rights and a suitable wage which will support the basics of living. Another group that could experience an advantage from the implementation of fair trade factories is the large brands which contract their production line to Cambodia’s garment industry, as they could increase sales margins of their merchandise by advertising their brand as “fair trade”.
However, smaller companies such as suppliers of generic brands may be negatively affected by the change as their main goal is to maintain rock bottom prices for their goods. Their ability to keep their prices low may be hindered by the implementation of fair trade programs in Cambodian garment factories as generic clothing suppliers acquire smaller profit margins than large brands and would not be able to sustain the possible price increases of the manufactured goods associated with trying to improve the working conditions up to fair trade standard. Also, as generic brand clothing usually requires heavy and fast production due to high demands from consumers and companies such as Wal-Mart, Kmart and other various big-box store franchises, the fair trade standard of 60-hour per week working limits may impede the required fast-rate mass production of goods. Consequently, some garment industry workers may also be negatively as the manufacturing of generic branded clothing contributes an immense amount to the garment industry, and the closure of factories that mainly manufacture generic branded clothing would close and many workers would become unemployed as there would not be a sufficient amount of fair trade factories to support the employment needs of the tens of thousands retrenched. The economy of Cambodia would also be greatly impacted as the garment industry would experience a large decline in incoming profits if a large number of factories cease production.
I believe that this is an effective solution only if there is enough major brands willing to set up production in Cambodia to provide jobs for workers who are forced out of closing factories, and to support the hole in the nation’s economy that ceased production of generic branded clothing will cause. If these conditions aren’t met when trying to introduce fair trade factories, it may not be a worthwhile solution as the entire country and the majority of it’s citizens, not just those in the garment industry, will be negatively impacted due to the decline in the economy, and Cambodia’s overall growth will slow to a stop or even result in the diminishment of Cambodia’s development.
Response 2 – Increase production of major brands in Cambodia if generic brands withdraw from the nation.
A major concern of workers and the economic status of Cambodia when trying to improve the working conditions and wages of workers in Cambodian garment factories is the risk that companies would withdraw their production line from Cambodia due to the raised expense of having their goods produced in the nation, and move to a different country with cheaper production costs (this was demonstrated by Disney’s withdrawal from Bangladesh in 2013). However, most of the companies that would move production to a more cost effective nation is manufacturers of generic branded clothing, which requires heavy mass production at minimum costs to keep Kmart shirts at $2 a piece and maintain the consumers’ willingness to purchase products from their stores. With Disney as an exception, major brands feel the need to maintain their image so consumers can feel a sense of self-satisfaction when flaunting their products, and those brands are willing to pay a little extra for the production of their goods to enhance this image (e.g. H&M’s branding as an all-round sustainable and ethical company). This particular solution is proposing that major brands should increase the production of their goods, or move their production lines to Cambodia with the incentive of portraying their brand as ethical and humane (and even charging the consumer a little extra for this image) in order to compensate for the occupational and economical loss caused by generic clothing producers who change their outsourcing location.
This would positively affect the workers of Cambodia’s garment industry as they would not find themselves unemployed and unable to make ends meet as the manufacturing output would remain constant. However, many other nations around the world would be negatively impacted by this solution as they would be losing their contracts with said major brands to Cambodia. While helping Cambodia solve its problem, those other nations who rely on the garment industry would fall into economical despair and their workers would find themselves in the same predicament Cambodia would have experienced.
I do not believe this is an effective solution to Cambodia’s issue as it would cause a wider-spread globalised issue. It is also not considered worthwhile as the production of generic branded clothing is immense and the major brands that are willing to move their production line to Cambodia would most likely not compensate for the loss of the manufacturing of generic branded clothing.
Response 3 – Ban the discharge of police violence onto non-violent protest rallies.
Another major concern of the workers in Cambodia’s garment industry trying to stand for their basic human rights is the corruption and controversy surrounding the nations inept government officials. A major incident occurred on January 3rd, 2014 during a garment industry worker protest against the government’s refusal to raise the minimum wage to $160 per month, which was the proposed minimum wage by unions. In order to cease the protest, Cambodian police and military armed with AK 47s opened fire onto the human road block, resulting in the death of 5 people and at least 30 injuries. Cambodian garment industry workers are forced to endure the inhumane treatment in their workplaces as they fear the consequences of arrest and/or brutality associated with speaking out towards the governments and their employers.
The solution presented against this issue is to have the United Nations impose a ban on releasing live ammunition onto non-violent protests. This will maintain some of the most basic human rights such as freedom of speech and expression and will not force Cambodian garment workers to endure subpar conditions and also encourage them to stand up for a better future, rather than dwelling in a backwards dictatorship.
This will positively affect the workers of Cambodia’s garment industry as they will become more aware of their rights as humans and feel more inclined to act against the misconduct of the Cambodian government and factory owners, contributing to the betterment of society and development of Cambodia as a nation. This will also, in some ways, favourably impact the Cambodian government as they will be forced to gradually change their policies to suit modern standards of a developed nation and will improve their global reputation, as well as their own sense of morality and ethics.
The negative impacts of this solution will mostly be experienced by the garment factory owners and the companies who base their production line in Cambodia. If the workers of the industry decide to form more protests and demonstrations in order to achieve their rights, the production line will come to a halt and incoming profits will cease.
I believe that this solution, although only partially contributing to the overall solution of the issue of human rights in Cambodia, is an absolute necessity that needs to be carried out. Every human in this world is entitled to the freedom of speech and expression and should in no way be oppressed by the government of authoritative figures, so much to the extent that they fear for their lives if they say so much as one word to stand up for themselves. The ceased production due to protests may also provide an incentive for companies and brands to step in and do what they can to improve the wages and working conditions of the workers of the industry in order to continue the stable manufacturing of their goods.