Cambodia's Garment Workers Struggle With Low Wages And Poor Living Conditions

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - APRIL 07: Fish hanging from a clothes hanger are left to dry under the sun in a garment worker's neighbourhood on April 7, 2014 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Generating USD 5.5 billion in export revenues in 2013, the garment industry is Cambodia's largest economic sector. Of these exports, approximately USD 2.1 billion worth of apparel is sent to the US, and USD 2 billion to the European Union. The exponential growth in the industry over the past decade has been largely due to the low wage costs, combined with a large and young workforce. Most of the workers in the garment industry - who number close to 600,000 - hail from rural areas where the economy is dominated by subsistence-level farming and where other jobs are few and far between. Mostly young women; they come to work in the garment industry to earn money to support their families back home. Yet the hourly wage for sewing clothes for international brands such as H&M and Gap is only USD 3.33 a day if they don't work overtime shifts, which can range from 4 to 6 hours extra. Shifts last 10 hours a day and the working conditions are poor. A lack of proper ventilation in a country where the heat can be suffocating means many workers become sick; most of their income is then spent on medicine, leaving them with only a few dollars left over each month for accommodation and food. With 2 to 10 people sharing a few square meters of space, yet spending USD 20-30 per month for rent, they survive on fish as meat, vegetables and fruits are too expensive for them. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images)