Walmart’s black mark

[geovalin]

Alice Cuddy and Mom Kunthear

Cambodian workers producing garments for global retail giant Walmart say they are subjected to a slew of workplace abuses ranging from forced labour to sexual harassment.

Employees at numerous Walmart supplier factories across the country have made the allegations, which were compiled in a recent study exposing the brand’s “heinous abuses” in three of the major countries in its Asian supply chain – Cambodia, India and Indonesia.

The study into Walmart, which was published by workers rights groups Jobs with Justice Education Fund and Asia Floor Wage Alliance, accuses the mega-brand of using its “large and complex supply infrastructure … [to] conceal the exploitation”.

Read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/walmarts-black-mark

[geovalin]

Hundreds strike at K Speu garment factory

Tue, 16 June 2015

Chhay Channyda

Workers at A & J Carter (Cambodia) Limited in Kampong Speu province’s Samrong Tong district protested outside the factory yesterday, continuing a strike that began five days ago.

Some 500 employees walked off the job on Thursday after management terminated the contracts of three Free Trade Union (FTU) officials, said Sok Chan, one of the union officers who was sacked in early June.

“I worked [at A & J] for one year and one month. I was always getting bonuses for being a hard worker,” Chan said yesterday. “But they used the pretext that my work was not up to standard in order to sack me.”

Read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hundreds-strike-k-speu-garment-factory

[geovalin]

Kingdom ranked low in labour rights index

Tue, 16 June 2015

Sean Teehan

Cambodia ranked among the worst places in the world for organised labour in this year’s International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index, landing in the category of countries with “no guarantee of rights”.

The rankings focused on freedom of association and the ability to collectively bargain in the 162 countries polled, said Jeffrey Vogt, an ITUC legal adviser. The data, which was released last week, were taken from April of 2014 to April of 2015.

Cambodia, in the ITUC’s index, earned the same score as Bangladesh and Qatar, among others.

read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-ranked-low-labour-rights-index

[thousandpercent]

What a ridiculous story. It's defamatory. Walmart abuses Cambodian workers? Yeah, right, I'm sure somewhere in Arkansas there is a middle manager who said, "This is the kind of product that will work in our mix, and your price is acceptable, but unless I see some workers abused, it's no deal!" What bullshittery. Walmart had nothing to do with this. A salesman from a Cambodian factory went to Walmart, showed his samples, offered a price, then Walmart placed an order. Abuse, if there was any, which the sensationalist article fails to establish, was far removed from the buyer. It would be simarly ridiculous to say "Nike murders innocent black people" because the cops who shot unarmed citizens in Missouri and Maryland wore Nike boots. This story must have come from the laziest reporter at Left Wing Fox News.

[elgordo38]

Kingdom ranked low in labour rights index

Tue, 16 June 2015

Sean Teehan

Cambodia ranked among the worst places in the world for organised labour in this year’s International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index, landing in the category of countries with “no guarantee of rights”.

The rankings focused on freedom of association and the ability to collectively bargain in the 162 countries polled, said Jeffrey Vogt, an ITUC legal adviser. The data, which was released last week, were taken from April of 2014 to April of 2015.

Cambodia, in the ITUC’s index, earned the same score as Bangladesh and Qatar, among others.

read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-ranked-low-labour-rights-index

Walmart and other large corporations are just salivating over the TPTP deal so they can rush to the cheap labor, labor abuse no pollution law countries and set up shop. What a disgrace. They have no morals just plain greed.

[ggt]

They could just shut the garment factory down and send them back to the rice patties and begging at the waterfront...

[little mary sunshine]

Just guessing; however I think this story,is about 15%

Factually correct.

[Baerboxer]

What a ridiculous story. It's defamatory. Walmart abuses Cambodian workers? Yeah, right, I'm sure somewhere in Arkansas there is a middle manager who said, "This is the kind of product that will work in our mix, and your price is acceptable, but unless I see some workers abused, it's no deal!" What bullshittery. Walmart had nothing to do with this. A salesman from a Cambodian factory went to Walmart, showed his samples, offered a price, then Walmart placed an order. Abuse, if there was any, which the sensationalist article fails to establish, was far removed from the buyer. It would be simarly ridiculous to say "Nike murders innocent black people" because the cops who shot unarmed citizens in Missouri and Maryland wore Nike boots. This story must have come from the laziest reporter at Left Wing Fox News.

Do Walmart make any statements in their Annual Report, website or corporate publications about their sourcing policies? Do they claim to abide by the UN Global Compact standard?

If they do, then they are responsible for ensuring suppliers throughout their supply chains comply with the governance requirements - no abuses, no slavery, no child labor, no bonded labor etc.; are not not exploited or abused in ways that their own country's laws, international convention or UN agreements specifically prohibit. So yes, if they knowingly purchase from suppliers that do this then they have a responsibility.

If on the hand, they don't make any comment in their Annual Report, website or corporate publications and couldn't give a toss as long as price, delivery and quality are right, then they don't have a responsibility.

Aple, Nike, Marks & Spenser, Tesco have all been criticized for saying one thing and doing something else.

[Baerboxer]

What a ridiculous story. It's defamatory. Walmart abuses Cambodian workers? Yeah, right, I'm sure somewhere in Arkansas there is a middle manager who said, "This is the kind of product that will work in our mix, and your price is acceptable, but unless I see some workers abused, it's no deal!" What bullshittery. Walmart had nothing to do with this. A salesman from a Cambodian factory went to Walmart, showed his samples, offered a price, then Walmart placed an order. Abuse, if there was any, which the sensationalist article fails to establish, was far removed from the buyer. It would be simarly ridiculous to say "Nike murders innocent black people" because the cops who shot unarmed citizens in Missouri and Maryland wore Nike boots. This story must have come from the laziest reporter at Left Wing Fox News.

Do Walmart make any statements in their Annual Report, website or corporate publications about their sourcing policies? Do they claim to abide by the UN Global Compact standard?

If they do, then they are responsible for ensuring suppliers throughout their supply chains comply with the governance requirements - no abuses, no slavery, no child labor, no bonded labor etc.; are not not exploited or abused in ways that their own country's laws, international convention or UN agreements specifically prohibit. So yes, if they knowingly purchase from suppliers that do this then they have a responsibility.

If on the hand, they don't make any comment in their Annual Report, website or corporate publications and couldn't give a toss as long as price, delivery and quality are right, then they don't have a responsibility.

Aple, Nike, Marks & Spenser, Tesco have all been criticized for saying one thing and doing something else.

[SiSePuede419]

"Walmart had nothing to do with this."

Walmart sells t-shirts for $10.

They can make them in America for $5 each and make 100% profit.

Or they can make them in countries with sweatshops for 50cents each and make 2000% profit.

Obviously, a cold, calculated business decision based on greed.

Nothing to do with it? 555

[slerickson]

What a ridiculous story. It's defamatory. Walmart abuses Cambodian workers? Yeah, right, I'm sure somewhere in Arkansas there is a middle manager who said, "This is the kind of product that will work in our mix, and your price is acceptable, but unless I see some workers abused, it's no deal!" What bullshittery. Walmart had nothing to do with this. A salesman from a Cambodian factory went to Walmart, showed his samples, offered a price, then Walmart placed an order. Abuse, if there was any, which the sensationalist article fails to establish, was far removed from the buyer. It would be simarly ridiculous to say "Nike murders innocent black people" because the cops who shot unarmed citizens in Missouri and Maryland wore Nike boots. This story must have come from the laziest reporter at Left Wing Fox News.

I'll be darned, flies on the wall really do exist. And they know everything.

[DogNo1]

You think that Fox News is left-wing?

[stoli]

"Walmart had nothing to do with this."

Walmart sells t-shirts for $10.

They can make them in America for $5 each and make 100% profit.

Or they can make them in countries with sweatshops for 50cents each and make 2000% profit.

Obviously, a cold, calculated business decision based on greed.

Nothing to do with it? 555

Your comments show that you have never been a business owner, just someone that always received a paycheck. Also, FYI, Walmart sells t-shirts for $1.79. You can probably buy a 6 pack for $10.

[louse1953]

They could just shut the garment factory down and send them back to the rice patties and begging at the waterfront...

So in your opinion,abuse it's ok as long as it pays better than begging.Walmart and the other corporates must be running out of countrys.Next Bangladesh and that's the end of the line.

[louse1953]

"Walmart had nothing to do with this."

Walmart sells t-shirts for $10.

They can make them in America for $5 each and make 100% profit.

Or they can make them in countries with sweatshops for 50cents each and make 2000% profit.

Obviously, a cold, calculated business decision based on greed.

Nothing to do with it? 555

Your comments show that you have never been a business owner, just someone that always received a paycheck. Also, FYI, Walmart sells t-shirts for $1.79. You can probably buy a 6 pack for $10.

Excuse my ignorance,but is that right,$1.79 for a t-shirt.Well after all the middle men it doesn't leave much for the people that actually produce the product.USA,capitalism gone mad,this can't be right,abusing others for our own gratification.

[mike324]

As a manufacturer who has dealt with customers who sells to walmart, I can tell you that walmart does have a very strict standard regarding to labor practices. It is always the manufacturers fault for covering it up. There are many times where walmart have no idea who manufacturers their product as they buy it from another company to sell.

If its Walmarts own branded or sourced items, then they should in contact with manufacturers directly and does hold random unannounced audits. Usually its the factories that covers up these problems, but on the other hand Walmart does have unreasonable demands as well such as limiting the number of hours work. Many times the workers want to work overtime to make more money, but Walmart does not allow it, hence workers leave for other factories.

This is just the tip, there are many more issues.

[ggt]

They could just shut the garment factory down and send them back to the rice patties and begging at the waterfront...

So in your opinion,abuse it's ok as long as it pays better than begging.Walmart and the other corporates must be running out of countrys.Next Bangladesh and that's the end of the line.

Actually, there are a few more countries where jobs could lift the economy:

Democratic Republic of the Congo, $386 GDP per capita

Zimbabwe, $571 GDP per capita

Burundi, $640 GDP per capita

Eritrea, $705 GDP per capita

Liberia, $710 GDP per capita

Bangladesh's per capita income rises to $1,314

You go WalMart...help lift these countries people out of poverty...

[DogNo1]

Ever heard of jobbers and subcontracting? When I was teaching in the Los Angeles area back in the 80s, many immigrant girls came to class exhausted because their jobbers in the LA garment district had demanded that they sew a large number of pieces in a short time. These girls all had sewing machines in their homes and the jobbers would bring them pre - cut cloth that they had to assemble into shirts, dresses, pants, etc. They were paid very little for each piece and the jobbers would often pay them late or not at all. Other immigrant students would assemble parts of machines from large boxes of constituent parts. People complain about garment factories in other countries but are not aware of how many people are laboring for abysmal wages in the USA!

A couple years ago, 60 Minutes had a segment on what happened to children in Bangladesh who were barred from working in the garment factories. Some of them went into the dangerous job of disassembling electronics and machines where they were exposed to various dangerous materials. They couldn't just stop working because their families desperately needed the money. People are exploited everywhere, some more severely than others. I don't see any answer to the problem unless enough people are willing to pay more for goods from sources where the wages and working conditions are certified as being acceptable through frequent inspections. That would take care of factories overseas but then what about all of the underpaid and underemployed in the USA? I haven't heard of any effort to bust the unscrupulous garment jobbers in LA!

[DogNo1]

Before we condemn capitalism as the culprit, I should tell you that many of my students who were exploited back in the 80s are now doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, pharmacists, etc. and are doing very well financially.

[spidermike007]

Why don't they ever discuss Hun Sen's abuse of Cambodian workers and his orders to assassinate the union workers who represent them? Ever notice how gentle the news is here, in regard to heinous ASEAN offenders? Not a fan of Walmart but they are not killing their own people in the streets and stealing billions of dollars worth of land from their people, like the despot Hun Sen is, or Than Shwe in Burma.