An audit by the Ministry of Interior was launched into The Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL) last week, kicking off the beginning what people in the know estimated would be several weeks of further investigations in Cambodia.
The issue has severely divided labor rights organizations across the country. The question of whether the government will shut down, suspend or otherwise admonish the organization is a source of speculation. Industry analysts said that CENTRAL’s recent reporting, which found International Labour Organisation (ILO’s) Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) wanting in its mostly positive analysis of labor rights conditions, was clearly not acceptable to the government.
Labor unions in Phnom Penh have been gathering in support, or against the organization, in clearly divided lines.
“It isn’t about whether we support them or not,” a union leader at a factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh told Sourcing Journal. “It is about whether we are ready to face retribution for our views.”
Many are not.
Several other trade union leaders and organizations said that they were “continuing to monitor” the situation, but in general, felt that silence was the safer option.
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Bracing themselves for the continuing investigation, CENTRAL team members said their accounts and information was in order, but that this kind of an audit was “unusual.”
There were no prizes for guessing that the audit was directly linked to the report, other union leaders said under the condition of anonymity.
Khun Tharo, program manager for CENTRAL told Sourcing Journal that he is holding out strongly, “even though it is clear that the road ahead cannot be expected to be easy.”
“Now we don’t know what’s going to happen with CENTRAL,” he said “We can be suspended or shut down after the legal process. And our leadership, including myself, [are] facing a criminal lawsuit. So they are putting pressure at the organizational level, at the personal level and the leadership level.”
It’s not just the report, he explained. But rather that The government “was not happy with what CENTRAL wrote in terms of providing technical support and focusing on freedom of association.”
“We have been involved in raising a lot of awareness about factory closures, particularly during the pandemic. I think that is also an ongoing indicator where we have been advocating brands should pay the workers that are due. We believe that brands have to take a significant role and ensure a code of conduct,” he added.
It’s not just that audit that presents an issue for CENTRAL.
A criminal case was filed on July 11 by Hang Ravy, president of the Confederation of Cambodian Workers Rights Union (CWPUC), at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for “public defamation and incitement to discriminate” against Tharo and his associates. The suit calls for 1 billion Cambodian Riel (KHR) (about $243, 571) in damages for harm caused to their union.
This was in addition to an earlier motion against Tharo filed on June 27 for defamation and discrimination and besmirching the union’s reputation, seeking damages of more than 100 million KHR (about $25,347). The union was reacting to an interview on Radio Free Asia in which Tharo allegedly said that CWPUC was “a fraudulent union.”
Ravy said that the report from CENTRAL was “politically motivated and detrimental to the lives of workers in Cambodia.”
While there have been many calls for the report to be retracted from “yellow” unions that are allegedly pro-government, a few have been taking a different stance.
“We observe that this report reflects the realities of the general situation of labor rights, especially the exercise of the right to organize unions which promotes the improvement of working conditions, human dignity, peace and harmony in Cambodia,” a joint statement endorsed by the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) and Free Independent Trade Union Federation (FUFI) read.
“We see that this report is not intended to tarnish the honor and reputation of any relevant organization, but rather it is a highlighting argument and a reminder to the representatives of relevant institutions to work together to address the impact of ignoring these challenges,” it added.
The issues of freedom of association and worker rights have been thrust into the spotlight since Cambodia lost duty-free access to EU markets over human rights issues.
As of Aug. 12, 2020 some of Cambodia’s typical export products such as garments, footwear and travel goods lost their privileges due to the EU’s decision to partially withdraw Cambodia’s duty-free, quota-free access to the EU market. The preferential treatment enjoyed by Cambodia under “Everything But Arms” (EBA), the EU’s trade arrangement for Least Developed Countries, is now temporarily lifted due to serious and systematic concerns related to human rights in the country. “The EU enforces this measure while staying open to engage with Cambodia on the necessary reforms,” the European Union noted in a statement at the time.
The EU submitted a report to Cambodia demonstrating serious and systematic violations of key principles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) linked to political participation, freedom of expression and freedom of association in Cambodia on Nov. 12, 2019.
Tharo said that CENTRAL’s recent report was not a tool to attack the Cambodian government. “It is using to provide a wide range of inclusive roles for the brands and for the ILO BFC to report the tools and process. We want the governance and transparency—we don’t criticize, but we believe that things should be fair, and that people have a role to play. The BFC brands also have a role to play,” he emphasized.
“It took us so long for us to come out with this report because we intended to have a constructive dialogue with BFC because we wanted their inputs and feedback. There are problems for workers, these need to be addressed. This is a very systematic attack against CENTRAL,” he added. “And we are very concerned if this happens to CENTRAL, there will be more to come for others. Even the union can be suspended or dissolved by the court. The union leader can be subjected to harassment. Even prominent human rights organization can be shut down. You can imagine, this trend is becoming worse. And the space for the independent unions is becoming less.”
The Textile Apparel Footwear and Travel Goods Association (TAFTAC) in Cambodia was not pleased with the report either, issuing a statement on June 24 noting shock and disappointment “at the very bias and subjective report of CENTRAL which had claimed that the situation of freedom of association in Cambodia’s GFT sector had been deteriorating.”
“This is simply not correct judging from a number of key indicators such as number of unions and workers’ unionization rate, minimum wage developments, comprehensive social security provision and the government’s recently launched strategic policy prioritizing workers’ rights, well-being and skill improvement,” the statement said.
“Similarly, TAFTAC is shocked and disappointed at the Clean Clothes Campaign’s statement to condemn what they wrongly perceived as a smear campaign against independent labor right organization,” it added. “Let’s remind ourselves that in a democratic society, it’s completely fine to intensely scrutinize and constructively criticize each other’s ideas, opinions or reports as long as concrete reasons are provided.”
Global support for CENTRAL was apparent in a strongly worded statement issued days before the scheduled audit.
“We urge the Cambodian government in the strongest possible terms to immediately cancel the audit,” the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) and the Fair Labor Association (FLA) wrote in a letter July 12 addressed to Deputy Prime Minister Abhisantibindit Sar Sokha, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Heng Sour and Minister of Commerce Cham Nimul.
The letter illuminated what has been a matter of silent understanding in Phnom Penh: “The timing of the audit so close after CENTRAL’s recent report made it appear that the sole purpose of the audit is to retaliate against CENTRAL.”
“The smearing and judicial harassment of CENTRAL for their work on freedom of association for workers and unions threatens not just labor rights but all critical reporting by civil society in Cambodia,” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in another statement. “The ILO, Better Factories Cambodia, and the brands who rely on their reporting should condemn efforts to hinder their work.”
Although CENTRAL members said they were glad of the support, the statements were not well received in general in Phnom Penh, citing “foreign interference” including by several media outlets.
Tharo disagreed. “We’re happy with the public statement from AAFA and FLA. It sent very strong messages,” he said.
“Now it’s time for brands under BFC to speak out,” he said. Global brands and retailers under the BFC program include H&M, Nike, Inditex and others. “We feel it is also time for the UN to press strongly at this point. The more that we keep silent it will allow more repression,” he said.