Child Labor?

Ending Child Labor to Expand Education and Reduce Poverty
Xinhua General News Service
June 12, 2006

The Cambodia government over the past 5 years has made extensive efforts to reduce the amount of child labor in Cambodia. Despite those efforts, recent studies have shown nearly 50% of 7-14yr olds are still engaging in economic activity. There are serious concerns that this is preventing a large proportion of the young population from receiving adequate education that could prepare them to enter the labor market.

A huge majority of these children, estimated 90%, are providing unpaid labor to help their families with subsistence farming. Thus, the presence of child labor is not found in a factory setting. Many argue that this form of child labor is an unfortunate necessity to keep food on the table of thousands. Others are quick to point out that the presence of child labor in Cambodia is relatively high in comparison to other countries with similar income levels.

The International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and the World Bank are putting pressure on the Cambodian government to improve policies and up enforcement of current laws. However, due to the nature of Child Labor that currently exists, it is extremely difficult to enforce and monitor.

Globalization's trail leads into the backstreets of Cambodia as computer companies look farther afield to fill basic jobs : Crossroads on the info hig

http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/01/27/btasia_ed3_.php

Cambodia suffers one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia. For the most part their foreign investment and work in the industrial sector is focused within the textile industry, however the gains from outsourced jobs from India through the information-technology processing company Digital Data Divide is showing some signs of hope for diversification and job opportunities to otherwise disadvantaged persons.

India's economic boom in the world of technology has already begun to spill over into nearby countries with cheaper labor. Currently operations in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Lao have been set up to do the low-tech work required to fuel the high-tech powerhouses found in India. The benefits can be dramatic, these outsourced jobs working with computers not only provides skils training in a feild that allows a great deal of vertical mobility, but the base pay for entry-level positions out competes wages within the textile industry $70 to $45.

Digital Data Divide is also helping to improve the economic situation for an especially vulnerable population of disabled people. The bulk of the 70 person workforce within this company in Phnom Penh are physically, with the loss of limbs to land mines or other dibilitating accidents. The company is currently looking into expanding its operations and will seek to hire women rescued from sex trade. Managing the company in this way is mutually beneficial, as people from disadvantaged groups can often work for less while gaining a work opportunity they could not obtain otherwise.

Harsh realities of Free Trade

The Price of Free Trade – Part II
Tome Fawthrop
YaleGlobal, 1 October 2004

Cambodia has recently emerged from preffered country treatment by the US with the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA). Previously, Cambodia benefited from low tariffs on textile exports, generous quotas, and the protective cap on China’s market share. However, without those protections anymore Cambodia is forced to compete in the harsh globalized market without any armor. With Cambodia’s clothing industry accounting for around 90% of export earnings, a loss of market share would be devastating to the country, and especially to the young women who are predominantly employed in garment factories and have few alternative prospects.

Hun Sen, prime minister of Cambodia, recently joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in order to bolster the countries attractiveness to foreign investors. However, in order to receive trade benefits from the US, Cambodia also made the commitment in 2001 to improve labor conditions by working with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Garment Manufacturer’s Association of Cambodia (GMAC). The price of meeting international labor standards by ensuring practices such as overtime pay, bathroom breaks, union representation, and acceptable working conditions increases the price for Cambodian goods and makes them less competitive with other Asian nations like China, Thailand, or even Bangladesh.

At this point, Cambodia must rely on its ethical label to attract consumers. This article effectively outlines the cut-throat atmosphere developing countries face when working in a free trade environment. With a weak economic base, a reputation for corruption, and inability to meet China’s low cost of labor, the outlook is grimm. Fortunately for us, this article is somewhat old, which means we can find out what happened in 2005 when the US removed its favorable quotas. Unfortunately, you will have to wait and read my paper to find out the answer. Or, of course, do some research of your own!