Chapter
V

EIC SURVEY: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND WTO MEMBERSHIP

Kim Phalla and Tuy Chak Riya

SUMMARY OF SURVEY RESULTS

     The Economic Institute of Cambodia conducted a survey in Phnom Penh on issues relating to social justice and the accession of Cambodia to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The survey sample consisted of 100 workers, 151 business operators, and 15 representatives of local and international non-governmental organizations.

     A majority in the worker sample group are female in the age range of 16 to 45. They have, on average, five persons in their family. They have little education, low income, and many are in debt. Additionally, they consider themselves to be unhappy; they have no future expectation, little-to-no leisure activities, and poor relationships with friends. In one of the few bright spots they report that most of them are able, at least once a year, to visit their homeland. Many possess their own land, yet are not able to make a living off it, and have been working urban poor for at least five years. Most of these workers migrated from Prey Veng province, a particularly impoverished area.

     The EIC survey with business people reveals that 65 percent of them believe their business is currently not going well. A higher percentage, 70 percent, believes business is bad in general in Cambodia. They point to five major factors they claim undermine the business environment – political instability, lack of security, problems in the legal system, corruption, and the tax rate.

     The news of Cambodia’s accession to the WTO has reached 39 percent of workers and 53 percent of business people. The workers are somewhat more optimistic than the business owners in their hope that the WTO accession will be helpful to their lives, with 84 percent of workers expressing a favorable opinion of WTO’s potential versus a lower 70 percent of business people.

     Social justice in Cambodian society is one of those things that people can’t describe but know it when they see it, or don’t see it. All 100 of the workers surveyed said they do not know the meaning of the term social justice, but 97 percent of them know that social justice does not exist in the Cambodian society. Asked to name the three most important components of social justice in Cambodia, 39 percent nominated democracy to be followed by 35 percent for the legal system, 26 percent for the economy.

     From 15 September to 8 October 2003, the Economic Institute of Cambodia conducted a survey of poor workers and business people in Phnom Penh on the issues of social justice and Cambodia’s accession to WTO. The survey is taken two days after Cambodia is formally accepted to become a member of WTO. The survey also occurred during a time when the Cambodia’s government is in flux; a national election had been held in late July, but due to a lack of agreement among the three winning parties, a new government had not yet been formed.

     Two methods of interviewing are undertaken to collect information. The first is quantitative interviews with 100 workers and 151 small and medium business owners, using a questionnaire designed specifically for the survey. The second method is qualitative interviews with 15 representatives of local and international non-government organizations in Cambodia. All information collected is processed in SPSS and Excel programs for data analysis.

The 100 workers in the survey sample composed of:

• 30 garment workers in factories located in Teouk Thlar, Obeak Kmoam, and Toul Sangke;
  
• 15 small traders at Phsar Kandal, Phsar Doemkor, Phsar Chbar Ampov, and Phsar Toul Tompong;
  
• 15 moto-taxi operators in Phsar Douemkor and Phsar Chbar Ampov;
  
• 10 construction workers who are working at the Sorla II area, where apartments are being built for sale;
  
• 10 cyclo drivers in the neighbourhoods of Phsar Kandal and Phsar Toul Tompong;
  
• 10 waiters/waitresses working in the restaurants at Preak Lap zone; and,
  
• 10 scavengers working and living at the dumping ground in Stung Mean Chey.

The 151 small and medium business owners selected for the interview are as follows:

• 66 stall owners selling in the city's main markets like Phsar Chbar Ampov, Phsar Thmei, Phsar Olympich , Phsar Toul Tompong, and Phsar Orussey;
  
• 69 shop owners around Phsar Chbarampov, Phsar Thmei, Phsar Olumpich, Phsar Toul Tompong, and Phsar Orussey; and,
  
• 16 company owners/managers in diverse sectors such as the garment industry, construction, hotel, restaurant, medical supplies, etc...

     In the sample, many workers are female and young. The 1998 national population census conducted by the Ministry of Planning shows that females represent 52 percent of total population. The EIC survey sample shows that an even higher percentage falls into the category of working urban poor. Among 100 workers surveyed, 60 percent are females.

Table 1: Gender of Surveyed Workers and Business Owners

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     Approximately 38 percent of workers fell into the age group of 16 to 25 years old; 32 percent are between 26 and 35 years old, 18 percent are between 36 and 45 years old, and 12 percent are over 45. The business owner age groups are as follows: 15 of business people are between 16 and 25 years old, 35 percent are between 26 and 35, 33 percent are between 36 and 45, and 17 percent are over 45.

Table 2: Age of Surveyed Workers and Business Owners

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     The majority of surveyed workers complete only minimal education. 65 percent of them do not finish primary school, while 29 percent manage into middle school (years 7 to 9), and a mere 6 percent complete some or all of high school (years 10 to 12). The average duration of their schooling is only five years.

Table 3: Education of Surveyed Workers

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     The education of business owners is also still limited: 47 percent do not proceed beyond primary school (grades 1 to 6); 18 percent leaves school between grades 7 and 9; and 20 percent makes it to high school (grades 10 to 12); just 11 percent completes university undergraduate work; four percent earns a post graduate degree in Master of Business Administration.

RESULTS OF THE SURVEY

Socio-Economic Situation of Surveyed Workers

     Although a majority of worker respondents in the EIC survey own their own land, the size of their land is insufficient to live on, and they chose to leave it behind and migrated to the city for work. Sixty-three percent of the workers who migrated from various Cambodian provinces into Phnom Penh possess their own land. But their holdings are small.

Table 5: Size of Farmland (ha)

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     The survey also shows that 20 percent have migrated to work in Phnom Penh for less than a year ago, 44 percent have worked in the city between one and four years, 21 percent between five and eight years, and 15 percent more than eight years. Thus, the average employment of a worker in Phnom Penh is 4.6 years.

Table 6: Period of Employment in Phnom Penh

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     Most of the survey respondents do not earn enough for a living. Nearly three-quarters of workers in Cambodia earn less than 8,000 riels per day (about US$2). This amount is insufficient to support themselves, let alone families. Of the EIC survey respondents, 13 percent make less than US$30 per month, 59 percent between US$30 and US$60, and 28 percent earn US$60 or more per month. The average monthly income of those surveyed is US$54.8 per month, or just under US$2 per day.

Table 7: Earning of Surveyed Workers

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     The fact that 40 percent of these workers report they are in debt indicates how insufficient these reported earnings are.

Table 8: Debt of Workers

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     Most of the workers in the survey come from provinces nearby Phnom Penh. 26 percent of the worker respondents are from Prey Veng, 16 percent from Kandal, 12 percent from Kampong Cham, 10 percent from Takeo, and the remaining 36 percent from other provinces.

Table 9: Migration of Workers

Source: EIC survey, 2003

Social interactions

     The social interaction of the workers seems to be poor. The EIC survey shows that 75 percent of workers in Phnom Penh are able to visit their native villages or relatives at least once a year, while a quarter of them are not.

Table 10: Visit to Homeland at Least Once a Year

Source: EIC survey, 2003

   
  This seems to be the only relatively bright spot in many of these workers’ life. A large proportion of 48 percent of the workers report that they do not have sufficient time or opportunity to form good relationships with friends; and just 20 percent feel they have good relationship with friends.

Table 11: Relationships with Friends

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     Moreover, the isolation trend appears to be further confirmed. The survey shows that 70 percent of workers feel they never have time for social leisure activities, while only 30 percent do.

Table 12: Time for Leisure Activities, Happy life

     Business people are nearly as downbeat as the workers. 65 percent in the EIC survey says their business is going poorly, 27 percent says they are breaking even, and only 8 percent claims that things are going well.

Table 13: Condition of Own Business

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     For the business condition in general in Cambodia, 70 percent of the business respondents says business is bad, 26 percent says it is alright, and a mere 4 percent feels the business climate is good.

Table 14: General Business Condition

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     To most of the respondents, Cambodia is hampered by many major issues – political uncertainty, corruption, and biased legal system. 94 percent of the business group is in agreement that political uncertainty is the major factor negatively affecting the business environment, followed by corruption within state institutions. Only 54 percent complains about the high tax rate.

Table 15: Factors Undermining Business Environment

Cambodia's Accession to WTO

     The EIC survey on the WTO issue taken two days after Cambodia is invited to join WTO indicates that only 53 percent of the business owner respondents has heard about Cambodia’s bid to join WTO.

Table 16: Heard about WTO

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     Despite some lack of awareness on the issue, 70 percent of them express the belief that WTO membership will provide benefits to their own business. The remaining 30 percent says they do not believe Cambodia’s membership in WTO will be helpful to them, because it will increase competition.

Table 17: WTO could be helpful

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     Not surprisingly, fewer workers are aware of WTO than the business people. Only 39 percent of vulnerable workers have heard about Cambodia’s ascension to WTO; 61 percent has never heard of it. However, 84 percent of workers express their belief that the WTO membership could provide benefits to them, in terms of job creation and a more robust export market.

     When asked whether WTO membership could help the general business climate in Cambodia, 57 percent of the business owner respondents say yes, naming such positive factors as opportunities for exportation of domestic products, possible increase in investment, and reforms in the legal system. In contrast, 43 percent says WTO membership will bring hurdles to general business because it will increase the number of competitors, particularly from abroad. For example, worries are expressed that the fledgling Cambodian garment industry will have troubles competing with China and other garment-producing countries in the region.

Table 18: WTO accession could boost general business

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     Despite hopes by the majority of the business people that WTO could be of benefit to Cambodian business, pessimism reigns over the chances of it actually happening. The EIC survey reveals that 59 percent of businesses people do not believe that the current government will follow through on implementing the laws and regulations necessary to fulfil the WTO requirements. 31 percent thinks the government might be able to do it. Only 10 percent is confident that it will happen.

Table 19: Believe the current government
to implement laws and regulations
to fulfill the WTO requirements

Source: EIC survey, 2003

Review Feedback of Cambodia Joining the WTO

     In addition to the surveys of workers and business people, EIC conducted interviews with representatives of local or international non-governmental organisations. Among questions posed to them are:

     1. What do you think about Cambodia joining the WTO?
     2. What impact will it have on the national economy?
     3. Could it attract more local and international investors to the country?
     4. What will the benefits be to poor people?
     5. How should the Government work within WTO to help Cambodian business stay competitive with other members of WTO?
     6. What can you contribute to it?

Cambodia’s membership in the WTO

     The NGO representatives address positive and negative points regarding the Cambodia’s membership in the WTO. Among the negative comments, they feel it is too early for Cambodia to join the WTO because Cambodia is not yet prepared to compete with other member countries in such areas as production, human resources, and administration. They point out that Cambodia is a less-developed country that relies primarily on agricultural production, and even the agricultural production does not reach the level that will free the country totally from foodstuff importation. They argue that the WTO membership might hamper agricultural production by allowing foreign markets to import even more goods into Cambodia. They are concerned that the Cambodian leadership might not be willing to make the challenging decisions needed. Some note the fee of being a member is very high.

     On the other hand, the positive comments point to the good opportunity for Cambodia to become more recognized by the international community. If implemented properly, they argue, the WTO membership benefits could include greater access to international import and export markets, increased protection of intellectual property rights, expansion of business operations into other member countries, access to technical assistance from WTO, and influx of modern technologies. With respect to the garment industry, they say it could raise the quality standard to compete with other countries.

Impact on the national economy

     The NGO representatives explain that impact will vary greatly for workers and businesses, depending on their position in society and available job and business prospects. Sufficient encouragement and assistance from the Cambodian government will be a keystone in any improvements. Some positive steps the government could take will be to improve the national infrastructure and other direct and indirect steps (i.e., judicial reform) to improve the business and investment climate. Such reforms and improvements will attract more investors to sectors such as tourism but there could be other effects as well.

     The representatives say as Cambodian workers become more skilled, they might be drawn to emigrate to other countries. It could be expected that as trade is liberalised between Cambodia and other nations, greater quantities of higher quality products will flow in. This will demand a response across all sectors of Cambodian manufacturing and agriculture. Cambodia will have to step up its efforts in quality and quantity production in order not only to compete against these imports, but also to compete internationally in the export market. The NGO representatives argue if the goals of higher product quality and efficiency are achieved across multiple sectors, this will obviously attract further investment and achieve the goal of job creation, boosting the economy across the board in the long run.

WTO accession and the attraction of more local and international investors for the country

     The representative respondents claim that additional local and international investment will be heavily dependent upon government action; i.e., improving trading policies, implementing rule of law, and achieving administrative reform within governmental institutions. Much effort will be necessary as well to develop the agricultural sector, not only farming, but also processing of farming products using modern technologies. Cambodia’s actions to reform itself under WTO rules will be closely monitored by the international community, and it has to acquit itself well to justify the hopes now being placed in it by the WTO membership. The respondents said Cambodia could become a model for other under developed countries.

Potential benefits to the working poor

     Interviews with representatives reveal both the positive and negative aspects of economic reform that WTO membership could or might have for poor people. Benefits to the poor will arise from job creation through new or additional investment. Job creation will have to be accompanied, however, by attention to the fact that workers currently have limited skills. The representatives say greater training efforts and apprenticeships are needed. Because the majority of workers in Cambodia are employed as farmers in the agricultural sector, much development help is needed to make farming more of a year-round industry. Irrigation projects, introduction of modern agricultural product processing technology, funding for equipment and more, are necessary.

     The NGO representatives warn that if these types of improvements are not made, Cambodia’s economy and workers will suffer. Poor leadership and weak governance will contribute to a decline of investment that will cause poor people to lose the meagre jobs they have. The respondents point out that if the government does not implement and respect fair labour laws enforcing standard working hours and pay, and does not enforce standards of occupational health and safety, workers will suffer twofold. First, they will suffer from the immediate effects of poor working conditions. Second, in the long term, poorly-run and regulated industries will produce shoddy products, and workers will suffer job cutbacks as the international market loses interest in Cambodian-produced goods.

Cambodia’s competitiveness with other members of WTO

     According to representatives, there is a long list of needs to be met before Cambodia can hold its own, competitively, with other members of the WTO. The government must improve the country’s infrastructure; e.g., the electrical supply is erratic; road infrastructure is poor, and the water supply is insufficient. More educational opportunities are absolutely necessary. Labourers must be protected by a government effort to regulate occupational health and safety. The government must take a number of actions, including judicial system reforms, establishment of a commercial court, administrative reform, adoption of anti-corruption laws, and improvement of trading policies in sectors such as agriculture and tourism. Obviously, the business environment must be improved to the point where additional local investors are willing to come forward. A key to the success of all of the above-needed actions will be the establishment of a more stable political climate than has been seen recently in Cambodia.

     The representatives comment that for Cambodia's accession to WTO to be successful, the government has to encourage investment, particularly local investment. They say because the rural sector is such a big part of Cambodia’s current economy, the development of agricultural production will be the key. They suggest the government concentrate on creating situations in which Cambodia could export rather than import. The government must reform itself in areas such as police, military, courts and so on to combat corruption. They emphasise if there is no reform, no progress can be made.

Social Justice in Cambodia

     All 100 workers in the survey sample are unable to provide a definition for the term “social justice”. But just because they could not come up with words to describe it does not mean they lack an opinion about it. The EIC survey shows that 97 percent of respondents claim there is no social justice in Cambodia. Only 3 percent say there is.

Table 20: Social Justice in Cambodia

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     The business people in the EIC survey seem to share the opinion of the workers. 78 percent of the business respondents think social justice in Cambodia is poor; 21 percent says it is “just okay” and only 1 percent thinks it is good.

Table 21: The state of social justice

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     The business people are asked to choose what they consider as the most important among three major components of social justice in Cambodia. Their responses are as follows: 39 percent says democracy is the most important factor contributing to social justice, 35 percent names the legal system, and 26 percent chooses the economy as the most important component.

Table 22: Components of Social Justice

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     The business respondents tend to think that the NGO could best deliver the social justice. The EIC survey indicate 48 percent of them believe in NGO for delivering social justice to be followed by government (33 percent), and then the legal authorities (19 percent) (Table 29).

Table 23: Who can provide social justice?

Source: EIC survey, 2003

     The business people in the EIC survey are overall optimistic that legal reform to improve the rule of law under the WTO accession could improve social justice. 62 percent is positive that the legal reform could lead to a rule of law and thereby help deliver social justice in Cambodia. 23 percent says they are uncertain that it will; and the remaining 15 percent indicates that legal reforms will not help.

Table 24: Legal Reform under WTO Accession
Could Improve Social Justice

Source: EIC survey, 2003

Review Feedback on Social Justice in Cambodia

     The EIC qualitative interviews with the 15 international organisations and NGO representatives regarding the issue of social justice center on the following seven questions:

     1. Has the Cambodian Parliament created enough laws to reduce poverty in the society?
     2. What do you think about the current court system in Cambodia?
     3. What do you think about the law enforcement institutions?
     4. There are currently two institutions – the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Women and Veterans Affairs – playing important roles effecting social life. Did/do they do their job well in protecting/assisting the citizenry?
     5. What do you think about the activities of the powerful/wealthy people within this society?
6. What is the effectiveness of human rights organizations in Cambodia? Other comments?

Has the Cambodian Parliament created enough laws to reduce poverty in the society?

     The representatives hope that the Cambodian Parliament will take immediate steps to create the political stability that has been lacking in the country. They also note that although the parliament ministers are hampered by political pressure and in some instances a lack of skill, they will need to try more diligently to adopt necessary reform in commercial, investment and anti-corruption laws. The representatives note that the Parliament has not yet passed the types of laws that will help create a fairer economy and give confidence to investors.

The current court system in Cambodia

     The representatives state that the current court system in Cambodia is complicated, and subject to corruption and injustice. It currently could not provide social security. They say people do not have trust in the current court system; court officials are hampered by inappropriate political pressure. The representatives state the WTO accession will require Cambodia to build a strong court system to deal with commercial issues, and will further require Cambodia’s government to provide and demand better education of court officials.

Law enforcement institutions

     According to the Representatives, law enforcement institutions are seen as performing very poorly due to a lack of proper enforcement of laws in addition to a general lack of understanding of the laws themselves. The representatives note law enforcement officers enforce orders rather than the laws; their implementation is neither effective nor fair; local authorities abuse and threaten people; many police officers, lawyers, and judges are corrupt. It is pointed out many of them follow orders from their ruling party rather than enforcing the laws. The representatives say that soldiers steel land from farmers and poor people. The police force is hampered by low salaries and a hierarchical system of corruption and bribery. They note lower-level officers do not properly understand the laws; criminals find it easy to escape prosecution by bribing the authorities concerned.

The work of the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Women and Veterans Affairs

     The two institutions – the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Women and Veterans Affairs – play important roles in social matters.

     The Ministry of Social Affairs, as remarked by the IO/NGO representatives, is plagued with poor management. They maintain that the officials there are not diligent in their advocacy for workers, but are prone to using inspections of working conditions as opportunities to extract bribes. Particularly in the case of garment workers, the representatives note that the Ministry is not as helpful as it could be in solving issues that arise between employees and employers.

     The Ministry of Women Affairs and Veterans is seen by the representatives as trying to address gender issues and women’s rights, but hampered in their efforts by a judicial system that lets them down. The say this Ministry is also held back by limitations in its personnel and budget. The IO/NGO representatives note that the Ministry has been making good efforts with respect to helping women to understand their working rights, and with respect to combating trafficking. They point out that those efforts to advocate for abused or trafficked women are often made moot when the required follow-through from the judicial system does not occur.

     The representatives say that both ministries could and should play important roles in public advocacy, but that many internal and external hindrances keep them from performing at all efficiently.

The activities of the powerful and/or wealthy people within Cambodian society

     The representatives of the international organization and the NGO note a large and growing gap between the rich and poor in Cambodian society. The representatives explain that in Cambodia wealth translates to power, which then translates to access to more wealth, and so on. They believe much money change hands in corrupt transactions; bribery is endemic. The representatives remark that Cambodia’s poor are typically more likely to be aware of and look to wealthy people to help them, rather than the government. They argue that in the long run the poor will remain poor and suffer from this misplaced mindset. First, most powerful and wealthy people – they will care much more for their personal wealth accumulation – have no real obligation to help. Second, the poor have little confidence on, and expectation from, the institution that is obligated by law to help them – the government; effectively, they relieve it from its obligation to serve them.

Effectiveness of human rights organizations in Cambodia

     The representatives share their view that human rights organizations in Cambodia are playing important roles in teaching people about citizens’ rights; they also often provide practical support to people seeking to stand up for their rights. The representatives note the organizations, including the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (LICADHO), the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), and the Khmer Institute of Democracy (KID), are very active locally. They say the NGOs such as these and others often provide services that the government does not provide, and thus are looked up to by the public as advocate groups for them.

     The representatives remark that although the NGOs in some cases fill the gap that exists between the public and the government, they could not do everything; for example, they could advocate against trafficking, but government authorities will need to arrest suspects, or prosecute the case. According to the IO/NGO representatives, their work is sometimes greeted with only faint praise from the government, or even at times open criticism.

     The representatives say some organizations are more effective than others; not all are necessarily motivated to solve the problems, because that will remove their reason for existence.

Comments on social justice

     The representatives feel that the most important factor for social justice will be an establishment of good leadership within a transparent government. Government officials must serve the nation, and not themselves or their political party. The promotion of close cooperation between NGOs and the government should be encouraged, as NGOs could help in the preparation of new government policies that will promote economic growth. The government must develop anti-corruption policies, and address the burgeoning illegal drugs issue. The representatives insist Cambodia become a rule of law country in which business investors could have confidence and workers could make a decent living.[back to main]