Fired for striking

In 2010, after a four-day strike for an increased minimum wage, hundreds of workers and union leaders in Cambodia were sacked when they wanted to resume work. Hundreds have by now been reinstated, but over a hundred workers are yet to be re-employed. In 2012 CCC was in ongoing contact with brands to get manufacturers to rehire workers who have been dismissed.

“For decades, global fashion brands have made excuses about why they shouldn't pay a living wage. But it is not a choice, it’s a pressing necessity. Hiding behind the economic crisis and company codes of conduct is no longer acceptable when talking about human rights violations.”

Jeroen Merk, International Clean Clothes Campaign

In 2010, Cambodian garment workers went on strike to demand higher minimum wages. Evidence shows that although the monthly minimum wage for Cambodia's factory workers is 61 USD, a 'living wage' – enough to cover a worker's basic needs and the needs of his or her family – is more than four times this amount.

In 2012 CCC was in ongoing contact with brands, asking them to use their leverage on factories and manufacturers to hire back the Cambodian workers who were dismissed after the strike. The Clean Clothes Campaign started a Europe-wide campaign called No More Excuses to demand that companies pay sweatshop workers in Cambodia enough to lift them out of poverty.

CCC organised solidarity and awareness-raising actions in various countries including France, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, where activists 'fainted' in front of the entry doors of big retailers that produce their clothes in Cambodia.
In 2013, CCC will step up its campaign for a Living Wage

The miserable conditions faced by Cambodian factory workers producing goods for fashion retailers were revealed in a documentary focussing on H&M and aired on Swedish national television in October 2012.

You can watch the documentary with English subtitles here.