Salary Hunger

I went to Atlanta's Edge, the multi-cultural cafe, last night to see a documentary titled Salary Hunger. After the screening, a group of the garment workers featured in the film were on hand to answer questions. You don't need to spend much time in Cambodia to be aware of the plight of the garment workers, but last night's event put faces and numbers to the story.  

The women of WIC (Workers' Information Center)

• The garment industry is the single largest industry in Cambodia.
• Over 700,000 Cambodians work in the garment industry.
• 90% of them are women.
• The garment workers' unions are headed predominantly by men who fail to address the real problems, making unilateral decisions that benefit the unions but not necessarily the workers.
• Example: One factory has one toilet for the 30 men on staff. It also has one toilet for the 900 women.
• The women work 8-10 hour days, 6 days a week.
• The minimum wage rose to $128/month in January 2015 following mass protests. Rights groups say that $160/month is the bare minimum to survive in Phnom Penh.
• Most of the workers are malnourished; they can afford neither proper nutrition nor health care.
• Many women share rented rooms with no real cooking facilities or clean toilet.
• Although the garment manufacturers can easily afford to pay a higher wage, the Cambodian government does not press them. If the garment workers get better pay, civil servants are likely to demand the same, and the government does not want to confront that situation.

WIC, or the Workers' Information Center, is a grass-roots group whose purpose is to inform the women in Cambodia's garment factories, to educate them and to fortify them to struggle for better working conditions and pay. They have drop-in centers around the capital city where women can get all manner of help and advice.  

I was pleased to see that Atlanta's Edge was jam-packed for this event. I worried that those who work for NGOs would be suffering from compassion burn-out.  Others might think they already know everything they need to know about the abuses in the garment industry, and others simply wouldn't care. This audience cared.  

So what to do?  If you have an opportunity, tell your clothing manufacturers and resellers that you want clothes made by workers who are paid a living wage. Me? Nearly all my clothes come from second-hand shops nowadays, or I hire a tailor in the Russian Market to whip up the odd dress or trousers -- I don't shop in Old Navy, H&M or Abercrombie & Fitch stores. What I will do, though, is make a point to support the garment workers whenever and wherever I happen to see them protesting. And when I think I'm living on a tight budget, I'll think of their $128 monthly salary and put things promptly into perspective.