Employee Rights and Freedoms in Cambodia

Manufacturing in Cambodia

Currently, we work with three vendors in Cambodia who are located in the Phnom Penh area. Two of the three vendors have been our global partners for over five years, and are operated by companies that have facilities in other countries as well. As part of our ongoing assessment process, full assessments of all facilities were completed in September 2013, with follow up visits in July 2014. We are in regular dialogue with these partners and will be doing further assessments in 2015.

We collaborate with Better Factories Cambodia, a branch of Better Work (an International Labour Organization initiative), which aims to improve working conditions in Cambodia. Better Factories Cambodia performs unannounced assessments, provides advisory services, supports with on the ground technical expertise, and delivers hands on training and root cause improvement for our facilities.

Our actions

In 2013 and 2014, Cambodia has undergone many challenges in the garment sector where employee rights have been compromised. We have been working closely with global brands, unions, Better Factories Cambodia, the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and our vendors to keep abreast of issues and ensure that employee rights are upheld in the two manufacturing facilities we source from.

We have been actively participating in industry efforts to engage the Cambodian government for minimum wage reform and respecting peoples’ right of freedom of association. We’ve conveyed our concerns about the detention of garment workers following protests, the creation of the new trade union law that meets the ILO conventions, and the creation of a minimum wage determination mechanism.

Our vendor code of ethics

Under our Vendor Code of Ethics, employees have a right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. This gives employees the right to choose, form, belong or not belong to a union, or any other type of employees’ organization, and take part in related activities. Our Vendor Code of Ethics applies to all countries where we manufacture (including Cambodia), which ensures all of our partners follow a single set of policies, regardless of legal and cultural differences.