Remarks by Andrea Fiegl, Director, Democracy and Governance Office, USAID/Cambodia, Special Information and Exchange Meeting on Cambodian National Asbestos

(as prepared for delivery)

On behalf of USAID/Cambodia, I would like to thank the Solidarity Center, the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, the Cambodian National Asbestos Profile Working Group, APHEDA, and our other partners for their collaboration and support for this event.  I would also like to express my gratitude to the participants here today for their determination to improve the lives of Cambodian workers. 

Without question, labor conditions in Cambodia over the last two decades have improved.  That improvement stems not only from greater employment opportunities, higher wages and expanded benefits generated by Cambodia’s expanding manufacturing sector.  Just as importantly, the improvements in labor conditions are the hard-won results of an independent trade union sector that has exercised its rights to unionize and bargain collectively for better health and working conditions.

Gains in worker welfare are not automatic.  Cambodia’s workers have demanded better working conditions along with economic and material benefits that have not only impacted tens of thousands of Cambodian workers but also, and perhaps more than any other factor, reduced poverty in this country.  In addition to this, we are here together today to discuss an important health issue that Cambodian workers have been facing.  Asbestos is notoriously dangerous as a hazardous material, restricted in the United States in 1970 for use in construction and with rigorous abatement measures required by the federal regulations.  Inhalation of asbestos fibers can lead to various serious lung conditions, including asbestosis and cancer which cannot be cured.  There are now so many safer alternative products available in the market.  There is no need to use asbestos containing materials anymore in the world.

USAID has supported labor rights in Cambodia for more than two decades.  We are proud of that support.  Our Labor Rights in Cambodia Project, or LRIC, is the newest phase in our support for workers.  It is a five-year project with an ambitious set of objectives, including assisting independent trade unions in their efforts to represent and provide benefits to their member workers in the garment, construction, food and services, hotel and hospitality industries, as well as workers in the informal economy, from tuk tuk drivers to entertainment workers.

One key goal of this new project is to provide support to workers in sectors such as construction and manufacturing.  Through the LRIC project, we can provide support to APHEDA and the Building and Wood Workers Trade Union of Cambodia to deliver awareness raising and information campaigns about the dangers of asbestos and how workers and the public can protect themselves from hazardous materials in the home and workplace.

We are excited to continue our support to Solidarity Center and its partners including APHEDA, BWTUC and other trade unions under this five-year project to address challenges and issues that workers are facing.  These activities represent key components of U.S. commitment to supporting workers and their union representatives in their sector to collectively find solutions for better health and working conditions that benefit the health of all Cambodians.  

Your collaboration and support on this concerted effort is very important for the workers.  I commend with gratitude, on behalf of USAID/Cambodia and the United States Embassy, the strong collaboration between the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, the ILO, Union Aid Abroad APHEDA, and the Solidarity Center in raising awareness and action on the issue and wish you all great success in this endeavor.