Underage, Overworked
Child labour is being used at a footwear factory owned by the same Taiwan-based company as Wing Star Shoes – where two workers were killed in a ceiling collapse this month – numerous employees have told the Post. …
A former Ying Dong employee said the issue is not a new one at the factory – in 2010, she worked alongside 13- and 14-year-old.
“Ying Dong needed workers, so they didn’t have strict rules to recruit workers. They allowed them to work, even though they didn’t have proper documents,” she said.Under the Cambodian Labour Law, footwear and garment factories can employ anyone as young as 15 but must provide modified duties to those under 18. …
Joel Preston, a consultant with Community Legal Education Center, said his organisation had found similar cases of underage labour at the third factory, New Star, in Preah Sihanouk’s Mittapheap district.
Workers as young as 13 had been detected and CLEC estimated that more than 1,000 were under 18. …GMAC’s [Ken] Loo [GMAC secretary-general] said there were certainly problems at Ying Dong and his organisation “in no way supports under-age labour”. …
Loo answered “yes” to a question about whether all three factories were in the hands of the same owner in Taiwan, but said he could not provide more details. All factories willingly using underage labour should be punished, he said, but added that workers often used fake documents to trick factory managers into hiring them. …
Dave Welsh, American Center for International Solidarity country manager, said he was aware of issues at Ying Dong, adding that by law, anyone aged 15 to 18 could not carry out “hazardous” work – something he said wasn’t clearly defined. …
The spokeswoman said Asics regularly assesses its factories in three ways: independently; by using accredited third parties; and through international NGO the Fair Labor Association.
Preston, from CLEC, agreed that the issue remained “complicated”. …http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052965915/National/underage-overworked.html
