Cambodian "People's Tribunal"

Here's an interesting article from Leonie Barrie, of Just Style Magazine.

Groups representing Cambodian garment workers are holding a "people's tribunal" next week to investigate pay and conditions at factories making clothes for brands including Adidas, Puma, H&M and Gap.

The two-day hearing in Phnom Penh follows a spate of mass faintings in the sector, as well as a series of strikes. It hopes to draw attention to the concerns of those employed in the garment sector - as well as a fair wage commitment from firms sourcing from Cambodia.

Unions and human rights groups will call evidence from a wide variety of stakeholders from the Cambodian garment industry, including workers, manufacturers, and multinational brands.
For the whole article, click here

The Brands mentioned have significant compliance programs, and I'm sure they are all aware of these issues. All garment factories in Cambodia have to be registered with the Better Work program and as such, agree to audits by the ILO, so they will also be aware. With such high profile scrutiny, you have to ask yourself why these issues are still there.

The following quote from the article may give you a clue.

"With this tribunal we hope to see some real commitment from big brands buying from Cambodia to start addressing the real needs of their workers - a living wage should be at the root of company policies," says Jeroen Merk, Clean Clothes Campaign international secretariat.