19 Oct 2000, More on gap/nike at June Textiles, cambodia
CAMBODIA CLEARS FACTORY OF CHILD LABOUR, UNION DECRIES 'COVER-UP'

Dear Friends,
Please find below more information provided by the Child Labour News Service on the case of Nike and the Gap cutting their contracts with June Textiles, a garment factory in Cambodia, after a BBC documentary (aired Sunday night) revealed (among other things) child labour at the facility.

Some of you will remember that we were in touch with Nike regarding June Textiles back in June 2000, when an estimated 20,000 Cambodian garment workers, including workers from June Textiles, were out on strike. Several issues were in dispute at that time, but the most prominent demand was an increase tothe minimum wage. Though the minimum has been increased to US$45 per month, according to the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) this is still far below a living wage. In July, Nike's response to our inquiry was that a "comprehensive response" would be forthcoming. We never heard from them again. We made further inquiries last week, in regard to these new developments at June Textile, but thus far we have had no response. The CCC is concerned about the fate of the workers who appeared on the BBC Panorama broadcast, particularly the underage workers. We also have questions about the steps hat were taken to monitor and verify labour standards in the workplace at June Textiles, as well as the policies and procedures relevant to issuing warnings when standards are violated, working with factories to pursue corrective measures, and ultimately decisions to terminate contracts. We hope that you will also be in touch with Nike and the Gap about these issues.

For more information on this case and the situation in the Cambodian garment industry, please contact the FTUWKC at ftuwkc@forum.org.kh

CHILD LABOUR NEWS SERVICE
15 October 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAMBODIA CLEARS FACTORY OF CHILD LABOUR, UNION DECRIES 'COVER-UP'

Phnom Penh, Cambodia: The Cambodian government rejected claims that children were working in a factory producing clothes for Nike Inc. and Gap Inc. An official investigation found that the allegations made in a British Broadcasting Corp. television documentary, to be broadcasted, were false, said Soy Sophon, an Under-secretary of State at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Welfare.
Soy Sophon accused the crew from the BBC documentary show Panorama of bribing a girl $10 to say on camera that she was 14 years old. The minimum legal age for workers is 15 years. The BBC defended its findings in the documentary, to be aired on Oct. 15. "We stand by our film and the evidence that we've got," said Panorama spokeswoman Jennifer Press. "Nike has admitted it when we brought it to their attention." The accusation of bribery was "absolute nonsense," she added. "We gave a small sum to all of the people who'd been interviewed because we'd taken so much of their time. But the money was not an inducement and was not given beforehand." "Allegations of child labour are pretty out of proportion," said CK. Chan, Assistant General Manager of June Textiles. "There is no necessity to use children because there is plenty of labour in Cambodia."

The country's leading independent labour union, however, said it could confirm the BBC's claim because it assisted in production of the documentary. "We made sure they interviewed people under 15," said Chea Vichea, President of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

A Nike official confirmed that the Beaverton, Ore. company was going to stop using June Textiles. Nike uses several factories in Phnom Penh, where the number of garment factories producing goods for international brand names has soared from about 20 in 1994 to nearly 200 now.

Vada Manager, Director of Global Issues Management for Nike, said that the company was investigating the claims regarding under-age workers. "We had already known that there had been some falsifying of records," Manager said. "We will consider that information could have been false or coerced in our overall examination of the factory, but because of other overtime issues involved, I doubt it will change our decision." In a statement issued, Gap said it agreed to participate in the BBC documentary as a "responsible and concerned company," and noted it is trying to independently verify the most serious reported allegation: that one of the 2,000 workers at its Phnom Penh plant is under 15.

Gap has suspended orders at the factory while it investigates all the workers" ages. "Gap Inc. does not tolerate underage labour. If we discover instances of underage labour, we take swift and appropriate action," the company said. Union leader Chea Vichea said conditions for workers in Cambodian garment factories are awful, and that it was in the interests of "Cambodian workers everywhere" for the BBC to report accurately about working conditions. His union, the country's oldest and most aggressive, estimates that 4 percent of Cambodia's more than 100,000 garment workers are 14 years old or younger, and that 20 percent are 17 or younger.

The legal working age in Cambodia was lowered from 18 to 15 in 1999. According to government statistics, only 280 garment workers, or 0.19 percent of the sector's total, are between 15 and 17 years of age.