Working Conditions in Cambodian Factories

Question:

Discuss About The Labor Market Laws Intra-European Migration?

The assignment is on identification of the working conditions in factories based in Cambodia. Proper identification of the working conditions has to be analyzed thoroughly as this will help understanding the breach between the working conditions and the legislations created by Constitution of Cambodia.

The main aim of the assignment is to analyze the working conditions in factories in Cambodia. The problems faced by the workers in the factories have to be properly discussed after analyzing the entire case study. The purpose is to analyze the reasons wherein Wal-Mart can continue and utilize the practices of employment, as this will help in implementation of strategies in the organization.

The structure of the assignment is based on analysis of the working conditions of the workers in factories along with the implementation of strategies and standards that will help in improving the standard of the working conditions in the factories in Cambodia. Proper action plan has to be implemented by the company as well as this will create huge emphasis on the entire organization as well as on the workers. The factory workers needs to implement strategies that are suitable for them to work in the factories and suitable for them as well.

According to the case study, it can be analyzed that there has been breaches in the working conditions of the factories in Cambodia as per the legislation of the country and International Labour Organization conventions.

As per article 36 of the Cambodia Constitution, there are different labour rights that include choosing employment freely, all the employees will be paid equally for the same kind of jobs and there will be no discrimination among the workers. The other provisions include proper and safe working conditions for the female workers, health and safety standards that include overtime payment as well as entitlements for pregnancy provided to the female workers in the factories. The occupational health and safety is included in the factories in Cambodia, as this will help in increasing the standards for policies that are used in the factories (Verbeke 2013).

As per the guidelines that are set up by the government, it is mandatory to follow such guidelines by the factories in Cambodia as it is created and generated for the safety of the workers in the factories. However, it was seen that the factories in Cambodia were not following the legislations and there was breach of legislations by the factories in Cambodia. The enforcement was weak in nature as the factory officials did not follow the provisions of law strictly and it was affecting the employees in the industrial context. The employers of the factories did not pay the workers the payment that is desired by them that included overtime as well (Verbeke 2013).

Breaches of Labor Market Laws

The other flaws that were noticed in the factories were the sexual harassment that was increasing in nature along with the union members was sacked. It was noticed that malnutrition was a common factor among the workers in the garment factories in Cambodia. The sexual harassment that was faced by the women in the factories in Cambodia was a significant concern and it was not taken care properly by them as there was lack of legal awareness among the workers and this was making the situation even worse (Rainnie 2016).

Due to the lack of awareness among the female workers in the factories, they were not able to seek justice and they rarely got justice about the sexual harassment cases in the constitution of Cambodia. The government regulations of year 2011 have set notifications and permissions for the suppliers who are dealing with exports. However, for the unregistered factories faces temporary suspensions of receiving licenses for export of goods and services. Proper licensing is required, as this will help them in not breaching with the legislations incorporated by the Constitution and this will help them in maintaining proper balance with the legislations of Cambodia as well. The other concerns were the forced overtime to the employees (Verbeke 2013).

The overtime that was mentioned under the labour laws in Cambodian legislations was 2 hours per day as this will help the workers in supplementing their incomes and getting paid a bit more as it will help their family to meet the demands. However, there were complaints from the workers that the factory manager threatened that there will be dismissal if the workers do not work according to the demands of them and this will result in loss to their jobs as well. There were also complaints from the workers in the factories in Cambodia that the workers have to meet the targets by working overtime as well (Lenze, Jana, and Stephan 2017).

Lastly, the concerns of the women were again a concern among the factories in Cambodia. The pregnancy related discrimination was making the enforcement weak in nature and this was affecting the morale the women workers in different factories (Palmer, John and Mariola 2015). The higher officials in the factories created their own rules wherein the pregnant workers will be working under contractual basis and the officials created issues while renewing the contract of the pregnancy-allied cases (Poulis et al. 2013)

Employment Practices at Wal-Mart in Cambodia

Wal-Mart in Cambodia consists of production of simple cut textiles that are helpful for them in receiving subcontracts. However, the working condition of the workers working in Wal-Mart is unsafe and exploitative in nature (Knights, David, and Hugh 2016). The workers are forced to made work under contracts that consists of fixed durations. The contract of the employees at Wal-Mart force them to face unsafe conditions at workplace along with low wages and no such benefits are provided to the employees that are desired in nature. The other harsh terms and conditions include the termination of the employees from the workplace if they do not follow the terms and conditions strictly. There are kinds of violence that are faced by the female workers and discrimination is even noticed at the Wal-Mart workplace. The workers are made to work for longer hours as the higher officials of the Wal-Mart force them to work in terrible working conditions as well (Guthrie et al. 2015).

There are situations in the workplace of Wal-Mart in Cambodia wherein the workers are not provided with holidays that are desired by the workers. The working days for the workers in the factories are 10-14 days; however, there are no such holidays or national holidays provided to the workers and it was a notorious place for the workers to work in such condition in Wal-Mart. The working condition of the workers in Wal-Mart was not comfortable for the workers as the workers testified it and it was hot, humid and ventilation was scarce in nature (Eisenstein 2015). There are other issues faced by the workers wherein they wanted to leave the organization Wal-Mart, however, there are constraints of the workers and they had no other option but to continue working in such unsafe working conditions (Fossum 2014).

The public and large organization Wal-Mart in Cambodia can continue properly utilise such unsafe working practices and sustain in the industry as this is the one of the largest brands wherein getting a job opportunity is a difficult task and there are individuals who wants to get a job in such large organizations as well (Compton, Janice and Robert 2014). The policies and procedures followed by Wal-Mart in Cambodia are strict for the workers in the organization as well. Nevertheless, Wal-Mart can sustain in the industry, as they are highly efficient in nature as the focus of Wal-Mart is to improve the aerodynamics of the trucks with fuel-efficient tires (Cuervo-Cazurra et al. 2016).

The Sustainability of Wal-Mart in the Industry

However, the pressure of the suppliers has to provide products that are sustainable in nature and expanding the business as well and compete with the other firms in the industry as well. The large organization Wal-Mart can sustain in the industry by implementing such harsh strategies and rule on the workers as the sustainability growth rate has been higher in the last few decades. The supply chain of Wal-Mart is sustainable in nature but the pressure has to be reduced by them on their officials as this will affect the morale of the employees in the organization and it will lead to less growth in the sustainability.

The strategies have to be implemented in such a manner that it helps in understanding the issues faced by the workers in the factories in Cambodia (Chidlow et al. 2014). The working conditions has to be made safe in nature as this will help in understanding the requirements of the workers and it will boost the morale of the employees as well. The sustainability in the supply chain has to be made more efficient and effective in nature, as this will enhance the efforts of the suppliers working in factories of Wal-Mart in Cambodia. Proper strategies has to be adopted by Wal-Mart as to provide the female workers in the organization with the requirements that will help them working in an environment that is efficient in nature and suitable for them to work in the factories (Cavusgil et al. 2014).

There can be different implementation of strategies that can be done by the organizations in order to provide those proper working conditions and it will help in meeting the national and international conventions as well as legislations. Proper working conditions along with welfare activities have to be ascertained in order to provide the workers a safe and secured working environment (Cano et al. 2016).

The strategies that have to be implemented by the organizations are both for external and internal environment at workplace. The welfare activities that have to be ascertained by the workplace internally are as follows:

• Proper housekeeping
• Proper control of effluents
• Safety measures of the workmen
• Provision of safe drinking water
• Proper services of canteen
• Rest rooms for pregnant ladies

• Emergency Aids
• Proper education and training on health related issues
• Proper health centre
• Ambulance

• Proper planning of family
• Different services for female workers who are pregnant
• Crèches and child care segments

• Pension and gratuity
• Profit sharing
• Bonus schemes
• Insurance on unemployment

• Sanitation
• Proper transport system for the workers
• Communication
• Administration and other services related to community

• Extra mural activities include facilities as well as the services that are provided to the workers outside the factory and it can be of different kinds such as educational facilities to the children and providing provisions relating to medical facilities as well (Ackers 2014).
• Intra mural activities are those that include the medical facilities along with providing compensation to the employees in the organization when they met with accident along with insurance as well. Proper provision of safety measures is to be provided to the workers in the workplace relating to the improvement in the employment conditions and increase the morale of the employees as well (Bernhardt et al. 2013).

Proper action plan has to be ascertained by the organizations, as this will help in increasing the morale of the workers. The organization that is identified is Wal-Mart wherein proper implementation of strategies is required along with proper action plan (Brannen et al. 2014). The strategy that has to be identified and followed by Wal-Mart is to take care of the welfare of the workers inside and outside of the factories as it will essential to provide safe working conditions to the employees. In Wal-Mart, proper and safe working conditions are not provided to the employees. In Wal-Mart, there is highly exploitative duration for the contracts that needs to be properly taken care by the officials in the factory, as this will help them to understand the issues faced by the employees in the factory (Acemoglu, Daron, and James 2015).

Strategies to Improve Working Conditions in Cambodian Factories

                                                                       Figure 1: Action Plan

                                                                     (Source: Created by author)

The violations that are committed by Wal-Mart has to understand the policies and procedures of the factories and labour act properly as this will help them in providing benefits to the workers and help in understanding the compliances as well (Acharya et al. 2013).

The action plan that is required to be adopted by Wal-Mart is to analyze the mission statement wherein proper focus has to be provided on setting of the benchmarks and to grow the business effectively and efficiently. The other plans that can be adopted by Wal-Mart is to ascertain the issues faced by the workers and try to work on improving the strategies that can generate more effective results in the future.

The action plan has to be created by Wal-Mart as to identify the steps that have to be taken and implemented, as to boost the morale of employees and providing them with safe working atmosphere in the factory. Wal-Mart has to implement strategies that will help in improving the structure of the organization and it will improve the morale of the workers by providing them environment that is safe and secured in nature. There should not be any kind of rigidness in the organization as it will be a limitation for the entire organization as well.  

Conclusion

Therefore, it can be inferred that proper strategies are required to be implemented by the factories and the workplaces as this will help in increasing the morale of the employees. The standards are to be changed properly by the factories in Cambodia as this will provide the workers with proper working conditions and it will enhance sustainability in the business as well. Proper practices related to the employment have to be enhanced by the organization, as it will help in increasing the standards of the workplace when they follow the legislations. Proper standards are essential to be maintained by the organizations as to meet the national and international legislations and conventions.

The example of Wal-Mart in Cambodia helps in understanding the implementation of strategies that will help them in bringing more sustainability in the business and providing workers with safe and hygienic working conditions. There should not be any kind of violations in the industry as this will help them in gaining competitive advantage and it will not lead to issues relating to compliance. Lastly, the large organizations such as Wal-Mart need to apply legislations that are ethical in nature and it will provide the workers support to enhance their works to be done by them as well.

Conclusion

Therefore, it can be recommended that proper working environment has to be created by Wal-Mart in Cambodia as this will help the workers in the factory to work as per the norms and procedures of the factory. There should not be exploitative environment wherein the workers feels suffocated and they cannot work as well. Proper legislations that are formed in the constitution of Cambodia has to be followed by the factories along with the organizations as this will help in providing the workers with lot of satisfaction and they can generate good results as well.

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