Cambodia Factories Grapple With Issue of Underage Workers
SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia—In this quiet beach town, Lim Loeung says she spends up to 80 hours a week gluing soles onto shoes at a factory that does work for companies including Japanese sneaker-maker Asics Corp. 7936.TO +0.95% The factory believes Ms. Lim is at least 18 years old. Except she’s not. According to her parents and her birth record, Ms. Lim soon will turn 15. Ms. Lim said that at her job interview a factory employee wrote an earlier birth year on her paperwork than the one indicated on the birth record she presented. “If they see our age is younger, they will not choose us,” she said. Her 20-year-old sister, Len, said a factory worker did the same thing when she applied there a couple of years ago before she had turned 18. A spokesman for the factory, New Star Shoes Co., denied the girls’ claims. “We do not change the birthdays,” said the spokesman. The factory doesn’t employ any workers under 18, he said, but some people may lie about their age to get hired. He also said no one at the factory works 80 hours a week but declined to specify workers’ schedules. … Overall, child and teen labor is declining, according to recent United Nations surveys of numerous types of work across the world. But, despite that data, a Wall Street Journal investigation into the garment business indicates that underage labor continues to be an issue in that industry, especially involving teen workers who are able to pass themselves off as 18 or older. … At the same time labor shortages, fueled by demand from global retailers, have set off a scramble for workers. “Every factory is short-staffed,” said Mashiur Rahman, general manager of Universal Apparel (Cambodia) Co. and Southland (Cambodia) Co. garment operations in Phnom Penh. “I have 2,000 workers. I need 3,000.” … Cambodia, a poor Southeast Asian country, burst onto the global garment scene in the 1990s when its leaders looked to create jobs after years of civil war. In the first 10 months of this year, the value of Cambodia’s garment exports rose 20% to $4.61 billion over the previous year, according to the Commerce Ministry. Foreign direct investment rose 73% last year. This rapid growth makes it harder to find enough workers. In addition to ratifying U.N. conventions on child labor, Cambodia has set its own minimum-age rules. Children under 18 aren’t allowed to do hazardous or overtime work or to sign employment contracts without a guardian’s consent. Workers between 12 and 15 are prohibited from doing jobs that could interfere with school attendance, among other provisions. Children under 12 can’t hold jobs. … Cambodian law prohibits children under 18 from working around “harmful chemical” agents but doesn’t specify whether glue is considered such an item. The country’s secretary of state at the Labor Ministry, Oum Mean, said the legality of minors working with glue would have to be determined on a case-by-case basis after an investigation. …
Kate O' Keeffe
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303799404579287353595133592
