The EU initiated the procedure to suspend the EBA for Cambodia in February this year. A report is to be issued this month and the final decision will be announced in February 2020.
According to the EU, systematic violations of workers’ rights, including the right to strike, political repression and a crackdown on independent media, are behind the launch of the procedure.
However, Cambodian union leaders attending IndustriALL Global Union’s trade and workers’ rights training on 4-5 November in Phnom Penh expressed grave concern over the enormous impact of a suspension of the EBA scheme, as foreign investors have said they may move garment production to other countries, risking thousands of jobs in the process.
“750,000 workers are employed in the garment and footwear sector, and 20 per cent are members of unions affiliated to IndustriALL. Withdrawing the EBA will be a disaster for Cambodian garment workers,” said Pav Sina, president of Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW).
The Vice President of the Federation of Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) Mann Senghak added:
“Cambodian trade unions must urgently put aside any differences and unite to send a strong message to the EU that the trade preference scheme is of paramount importance for the survival of millions of Cambodian people dependent on the industry.”
“A critical decision like withdrawing EBA must take into account the social and economic rights of workers as human rights are interdependent and indivisible,” said Annie Adviento, IndustriALL South East Asia office regional secretary.
During the two days, 25 Cambodian unionists were trained on trade issues, as a follow up to the Asia Pacific trade and industrial policy meeting held June 2019.
Disclaimer: All third-party opinions expressed via IASWI accounts linked to and from this page are those of the individuals concerned and do not necessarily represent those of IASWI or its affiliates. No copyright infringement is intended nor implied. To discuss this disclaimer or the removal of appropriate credit for materials of which you hold copyright please contact us. All the third party videos and contents found on workers-iran.org is not hosted on our servers; all third party videos or contents are hosted on a third party site. The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and news sources on the www.workers-iran.org do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the IASWI or official policies of the IASWI. These posts are only generated for the purpose of information sharing on the labour related issues.