HUMAN RIGHTS - Swedish retailer accused of paying slave wages in Cambodia
A documentary revealing miserable conditions facing Cambodian factory workers producing goods for the fashion retailer H&M has caused a stir after airing on Swedish national television.
The 22-minute report that you can watch with English subtitles here
Campaigners and the media are calling on H&M to respond to allegations of poverty pay in the industry.
“The documentary revealed the reality behind the glamorous veneer of fast, cheap fashion sold in H&M stores,” said Klaus Melvin Jensen, coordinator for Clean Clothes Campaign Denmark.
In recent months, H&M has held a number of meetings with dignitaries such as the vice prime minister of Cambodia, and officials from the wage board of Cambodia to call for a higher minimum wage to be implemented for workers.
Yet campaigners say that meetings and good intentions are not a sufficient response to the pressing health risks and poverty conditions faced by factory workers.
“Last year, over 2400 workers passed out in Cambodian factories due to malnutrition as a direct consequence of low salaries,” said Jeroen Merk of the International Clean Clothes Campaign.
“But H&M, one of Cambodia's main buyers, continues to refuse to pay a living wage to its workers,” he added.
H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson said the accusations were completely incorrect.
"We want all workers to be paid more and that's why we pressure politicians to raise the minimum salary to a living wage,” Persson said.
The Clean Clothes Campaign Network in collaboration with the Cambodian trade union C.CAWDU launched in September a European-wide campaign called 'No more Excuses', demanding that the company take a proactive role in paying a wage that allows its workers to live with dignity.
The campaign aims to draw attention to the fact that whereas the minimum wage for garment workers is US$61 a month this amounts to less than 25 per cent of a living wage in Cambodia.
In an attempt to respond to the documentary's findings, H&M announced plans on for a project to strengthen union – management dialogue at some production units in Cambodia.
Campaigners and unionists have welcomed this step, but have expressed concern that it offers no guarantee of living wages for workers who need them most.
“We support the idea of building a respectful dialogue between the trade unions and the employers in Cambodia,” says Athit Kong, VP of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union (C.CAWDU).
“But H&M must also play its part. It is absolutely necessary that any project includes trade unions at the local and the nation level and really reflects the worker’s voices. This is the only way to achieve visible changes on a grassroots level,” said Kong.
Clean Clothes Campaign activists asking H&M to support the Cambodian trade union's US$131 minimum wage goal by issuing a public statement of support and engaging in building an action plan for paying this figure with suppliers.
“Last year, over 2400 workers passed out in Cambodian factories due to malnutrition as a direct consequence of low salaries,” said Jeroen Merk of the International Clean Clothes Campaign.
“But H&M, one of Cambodia's main buyers, continues to refuse to pay a living wage to its workers,” he added.
H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson said the accusations were completely incorrect.
"We want all workers to be paid more and that's why we pressure politicians to raise the minimum salary to a living wage,” Persson said.
The Clean Clothes Campaign Network in collaboration with the Cambodian trade union C.CAWDU launched in September a European-wide campaign called 'No more Excuses', demanding that the company take a proactive role in paying a wage that allows its workers to live with dignity.
The campaign aims to draw attention to the fact that whereas the minimum wage for garment workers is US$61 a month this amounts to less than 25 per cent of a living wage in Cambodia.
In an attempt to respond to the documentary's findings, H&M announced plans on for a project to strengthen union – management dialogue at some production units in Cambodia.
Campaigners and unionists have welcomed this step, but have expressed concern that it offers no guarantee of living wages for workers who need them most.
“We support the idea of building a respectful dialogue between the trade unions and the employers in Cambodia,” says Athit Kong, VP of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union (C.CAWDU).
“But H&M must also play its part. It is absolutely necessary that any project includes trade unions at the local and the nation level and really reflects the worker’s voices. This is the only way to achieve visible changes on a grassroots level,” said Kong.
Clean Clothes Campaign activists asking H&M to support the Cambodian trade union's US$131 minimum wage goal by issuing a public statement of support and engaging in building an action plan for paying this figure with suppliers.
