Safety and health at work

The Labour Ministry and the Health Ministry have vowed to work together to bring free, efficient healthcare to workers in both the informal and formal sectors. ...

The Ministry of Labour’s spokesman yesterday said that free medical treatment for garment workers, announced by Prime Minister Hun Sen last week, will start on January 1. Spokesman Heng Sour said the scheme would have help from other ministries. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered officials to set up health centres next to factories and areas where workers live to improve treatment for staff who fall sick. ...

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) said yesterday that incidents of garment workers fainting on the factory floor had increased by 39 percent over the first six months of the year when compared to the same period last year. ...

A group representing some of the largest apparel brands in the U.S., including Gap and Levi Strauss, are urging Prime Minister Hun Sen to reconsider controversial provisions in a pair of draft laws on wages and labor disputes. ...

In the country’s latest mass fainting episode, one garment worker died after inhaling what authorities suspect to have been toxic fumes and 27 others collapsed at the Taiwanese-owned Accasette Garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district on Wednesday. ...

A day ahead of May Day, the Building and Wood Workers Trade Union Federation of Cambodia held a small rally outside the National Assembly demanding the inclusion of construction workers within the minimum wage framework and new guidelines for workplace safety. ...

The Labor Ministry spent more than four billion riel on help for garment workers involved in accidents in the first three months of the year, but unions say staff are still struggling to access healthcare. ...

According to the official announcement, manufacturers in the textile, garment and footwear industry must do more to stop employees from fainting and suffering ill health as a result of working under excessive temperatures. ...

Leaders of the Cambodian Labor Confederation have urged authorities to take action against employers who harass, threaten and use violence against female garment workers.   ...

Eighty garment workers in Kampong Cham province fainted yesterday morning due to pesticides sprayed on a rice field nearby, according to police. ...

Statistics released by the National Social Security Fund yesterday showed that it increased its reach in 2016, adding more than 900 new private firms encompassing some 59,000 workers, and increasing its workplace accident payouts. ...

The Labor Ministry is considering constructing a railway line connecting Phnom Penh and select provinces to special economic zones (SEZ) or industrial areas in response to the high number of road accidents involving commuting workers. ...

Sroeun, 43, a former rice farmer from Kandal province, said he was sure there had never been any accidents at his construction site.​ “Small things happen. Scratches on our hands,” he said, declining to give his full name as a supervisor stood nearby during a break ...

The government has established the National Committee for Health and Work Safety, to comprise in part officials from relevant ministries to review, give counsel and spread information related to health and work safety. According to a sub-decree dated Monday and signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, ...

Insurance sales have grown by 37 percent in the first half of the year, totaling $56 million, the Insurance Association of Cambodia (IAC) announced in a report Tuesday.  The increase, up from $40.9 million for the same period last year, has been driven by a ...

At least three garment workers were hospitalized yesterday after a ceiling collapsed at a garment factory in Kampong Chhnang town, according to officials. ...

According to a Labor Ministry prakas, or official statement, both employers and employees will be responsible for paying 1.3 percent of an employees’ monthly salary to the government for state-supplied health insurance guaranteed to all workers under the Labor Law. ...

In an attempt to protect the interests and safety of Cambodian maids who travel to Malaysia, the Association of Cambodian Recruitment Agencies (ACRA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia National Association of Employment Agencies (PIKAP) last week, according to officials. ...

Negotiations between former drivers of the Capitol Bus Company and their ex-employer, mediated by Prampi Makara district authorities, yielded no settlement yesterday, although both parties agreed to continue talks.   ...

Swedish apparel giant H&M yesterday responded to a new report that alleged labour rights abuses in its Cambodian supplier factories by saying such issues plagued the entire industry and were difficult for any one company to fix.   ...

A new report has alleged labour rights abuses at Cambodian supplier factories for apparel giant H&M, as more than 500 garment workers gathered in Phnom Penh yesterday to air some of the same concerns over working conditions during a workers’ forum.   ...

Garment workers across the Kingdom will receive health insurance from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) by 2018, according to officials. ...

Former Capitol Tours bus driver Nan Vanna and labor activist Ros Siphay were released on bail Wednesday, nearly two months after they were arrested for taking part in a demonstration against the company during which protesters were attacked by a mob of angry tuk-tuk drivers. ...