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| This is Chea |
Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) was created within an agreement with the US and Cambodia. The work with local factories to cut down on unfair labor practices. They currently work with 40 local staff members and have over 48 buyers and 381 factories that partner with BFC. They have expanded the Better Factories model to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Myanmar to help support factory workers. Some of the issues that are at the forefront of their work are forced labor, child labor (defined as between 0 - 15 years old), and freedom of association.
In 2013, there was a surge of issues around factory labor practices which led to the beginning of BFC. They now go to governments to intervene in factories that have not complied with the outlined regulations. They also often make recommendations to the government on how to handle factories that are accused on these sanctions. However, BFC does not become directly involved. BFC focusing on working directly with government officials to increase their capacity to monitor factories. This explains part of their challenge as an organization, which is the enforcement of laws and regulars within the factories themselves. If they had more support for government to punish people for not complying, their mission may be more attainable.
Chea, who is the Senior Program Officer and Team Leader in Monitoring, spoke of his own background in human rights work in East Africa. Eventually, he was brought back to Cambodia. He enjoyed engaging with people and he is motivated by his coworkers as they enforce the culture of human rights in labor. His passion for human rights work is inspiring and it is apparent that he and his staff are innovative and excited about changing the status quo of factory work in their country. Though their funding comes from all over the world, including the International Labor Organization, they are working hard on the ground for their fellow countrymen as Cambodians in development.
