Applying the concept of decent work to cambodia's textile industry: the ilo's role in ensuring state compliance to international labor law
| Autor | Danilo Barbosa Garrido Alves |
| Cargo | Graduando em Direito pela Universidade de Brasília (UnB) |
| Páginas | 176-185 |
APPLYING THE CONCEPT OF DECENT WORK TO CAMBODIA’S
TEXTILE INDUSTRY: THE ILO’S ROLE IN ENSURING STATE
COMPLIANCE TO INTERNATIONAL LABOR LAW
Danilo Barbosa Garrido Alves1
Submetido(submitted): 21 de setembro de 2016
Aceito(accepted): 19 de outubro de 2016
ABSTRACT
The objective of this paper is to give an overview on the situation of workers in the
textile industry of Cambodia. These persons, young girls and women in their majority,
deal not only with very low salaries and extremely demanding journeys, but also sexual
harassment, unlawful firings of pregnant women, forced overtime and unattainable
production targets, among others. What can be done by the international community
(encompassing States, International Organizations, NGOs and multinationals alike) to
tackle these issues, and to ensure that the decent work standards put forth by the
International Labor Organization are respected in Cambodia’s garment factories? The
answer to this question is multifaceted, but certainly involves cooperation between
different actors – and, most importantly, actual interest in improving the working
conditions of these women, something that has arguably been lacking from the analyzed
actor’s side.
KEYWORDS: Cambodia; International Labor Law; Decent Work.
INTRODUCTION
May 19th, 2015. A van carrying 38 garment industry workers – more than the
maximum capacity of the vehicle – is hit by a speeding bus, leaving 18 workers dead,
seven in critical condition and 13 injured (Pheap, Consiglio, 2015). This could have
very well been an isolated fact: an unfortunate casualty that was aggravated by the
violation of security standards, something that happens in virtually every country of the
world. However, this is just a tiny expression of a much bigger issue that occurs in
Cambodia.
Flashback to May 2013. Exactly two years before the accident above, two
Cambodian factories collapsed within the span of four days. Even though there weren’t
as many casualties (two workers dead, and around 30 injured), the consequences could
have been disastrous. As it is highly unlikely that two buildings that follow all security
standards would simply crumble on a short time, those events drew international
attention to Cambodia and sparked a much-needed debate around the country’s textile
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1 Graduando em Direito pela Universidade de Brasília (UnB).
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