Hundreds of workers in Cambodian garment factories faint

At the beginning of the year, Cambodia’s garment manufacturing industry was hit hard by workers and now there are scandals again.

A number of garment factories in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, have been affected by this incident since the beginning of this week. The Community Legal Education Center, a labor rights organization, said that more than 200 workers have been sent to hospital for medical treatment. Among them, 118 are from the internationally renowned sporting goods brand Adidas AG. (ADS.DE) Adidas and Puma SE (PUM.DE) Two garment factories, Shen Zhou and Da Qian, on the foundry.

Nguon Sarith, 30, is receiving infusion therapy. She said: “It was very hot and I started vomiting and diarrhea. Other people also had the same symptoms.” Food poisoning may be the cause of massive fainting. This aspect investigates. Adidas AG (ADS.DE) Adidas and Puma SE (PUM.DE) Puma are said to be closely monitoring developments.

In the past few years, due to the soaring production costs in China, most clothing brands have begun to shift production and manufacturing plants to other poorer Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia and Bangladesh. Although this move has allowed these countries to rely on garment export economies, they have made some progress, but at the same time, prices have risen. Clothing industry workers have become increasingly dissatisfied with the work environment and treatment. At the end of 2012, a series of accidents such as fires and building collapses took place in Bangladesh. The most serious one caused more than 1,000 deaths. This caused the world’s attention to invest in a dumb working environment and inability to guarantee life for these countries. The low-wage bottom garment manufacturing workers.

According to data from the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce, in the first 11 months of 2013, the country’s garment exports to Europe and the United States reached US$5.1 billion, up 20% year-on-year. The country’s more than 800 apparel manufacturers employed a total of 600,000 employees, mostly women. , And there are serious child labor problems.

Earlier this year, workers in the garment industry in Cambodia demanded that the minimum wage be doubled to US$160 per month. However, the Ministry of Labor insisted on the position of a minimum wage of US$100. Workers decided to go to the streets to protest, but they were subjected to riot violence. , resulting in five deaths and dozens of injuries. According to the Cambodian Apparel Manufacturers Association’s Kong Athit, more than two weeks’ worth of activities resulted in losses of about US$200 million and investment delays of US$70 million. In 2014, Cambodia’s apparel orders will be reduced by 20%-30%.

The forecast, followed by 2014, will increase the price of fast fashion brands such as Zara and H&M.