If you thought that there were some organisations in the UK, or in the Western (i.e. more developed) world, where working conditions were not very good then please go and read this post from The World Bank Group's "Doing Business" blog.
Not only is overtime compulsory in the Cambodian garment trade but it goes on into the early hours of the morning when a woman walking home alone is vulnerable. Some of these women are experiencing one rape a year!
My immediate reaction was that I shouldn't buy any clothes which said "Made in Cambodia" but is that the answer? It's a difficult issue when people seem to be demanding ever cheaper clothes. These can only come from suppressing the wages of the people who are making them since the quality at the bottom end of the market can hardly go any lower without making these items completely unwearable.
My drop in the ocean from not making a purchase will be un-noticed – it will need a lot of drops. But, if a campaign led to a drastic reduction in Cambodian exports would that better the lot of the women working in the garment trade?
I'm not an economist nor a development expert and I simply puzzle.
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