Explosion kills one worker and injures others

This week, a young woman worker was killed and 7 others hospitalised when a wood-fired boiler at their garment factory exploded. The Zhen Tai Garment Co Ltd, located in the Thmey disctrict of Phnom Penh, employs nearly 2,000 workers and is a major supplier of Levi trousers. The garment sector in Cambodia employs hundreds of thousands of workers but is characterised by a Race to the Bottom where industrial injuries are common, and workers’ organising and union activities frequently repressed. The situation for workers is further complicated by a political climate where general dissent is met by physical violence or ongoing detention.

This week, a young woman worker was killed and 7 others hospitalised when a wood-fired boiler at their garment factory exploded. The Zhen Tai Garment Co Ltd, located in the Thmey disctrict of Phnom Penh, employs nearly 2,000 workers and is a major supplier of Levi trousers. The garment sector in Cambodia employs hundreds of thousands of workers but is characterised by a Race to the Bottom where industrial injuries are common, and workers’ organising and union activities frequently repressed. The situation for workers is further complicated by a political climate where general dissent is met by physical violence or ongoing detention.