Article |
British Journal of Industrial Relations |
September 2016
Improving Working Conditions in Garment Supply Chains: The Role of Unions in Cambodia
Key Insights for Managers
Do unions improve working conditions Cambodian garment factories? This study finds that unionized garment factories in Cambodia exhibit better compliance with standards governing working hours, wage payments, and leave. This study by Chikako Oka finds that not only do unionized factories tend to exhibit such better conditions, but that these conditions improve when factories become unionized.
Larger factories (in terms of employees) had fewer code of conduct violations in the domains of wage payments, leave, employment contracts, and occupational health and safety. The study is based on quantitative factory-level data of 579 exporting factories in Cambodia from 2006 to 2013 and field-based qualitative interviews.