By Kate Bartlett
PHNOM PENH
A new study of more than 3,000 Cambodian garment workers by the International Labour Organization (ILO) has found that almost half suffered from anemia while two-thirds said they did not get enough to eat.
Another 15 percent of those surveyed were underweight and 8 percent suffered from “severe” food insecurity, the report—released late Monday by the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia -- found. Additionally the report said, most workers surveyed were spending a mere $1.30 a day on food—about the price of a single bowl of noodles.
Just last week, Australia signed a deal to send its unwanted refugees to be resettled in Cambodia. The Australian government has yet to explain in detail what jobs the refugees will get, and this latest study shows just how tough life can be for Cambodians themselves.
"Anemia and food insecurity can contribute to wide ranging health problems for workers. Anemia often leads to chronic fatigue, difficulty concentrating and low productivity. Addressing these anemia levels will be complex, but is key to improving productivity and business outcomes in the garment sector" Jill Tucker, Better Factories Cambodia Programme Manager, said.
Garments are Cambodia’s biggest export industry and the sector employs about 600,000 people—mainly young women from the countryside. The country’s many factories produce clothing for high-street European and US brands such as H&M, Zara and Adidas.
In 2013, garment exports were worth $5 billion.
However, the industry has suffered from a litany of problems including poor working conditions, factory collapses, and, most bizarrely perhaps, mass faintings.
This phenomenon—in which dozens of women keel over while at work on the factory floor—has been blamed on a wide range of factors including poor ventilation, toxic odors, mass hysteria, and malnutrition.
The industry’s reputation also took a kick in January after five workers who had been taking part in mass strikes calling for higher wages were shot dead by police.
The monthly minimum wage was raised this year from $85 to $100, but unions and workers have recently started call for another $77 increase to the basic monthly salary.
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