Phnom Penh, 20 October 2011
The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) calls upon the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to prioritize the well-being of Cambodian migrant workers over private interests of recruitment agencies by upholding the temporary ban on recruiting, training or sending domestic workers to Malaysia.
Following recurrent reports concerning abuse and exploitation of Cambodian workers by Malaysian employers and Cambodian recruitment agencies, Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen announced on Friday, and formalized on Saturday 16 October, an official ban on sending domestic workers to Malaysia. The Prime Minister immediately issued the ban after Sam Rainsy Party Parliamentarian Mu Sochua raised the issue with him during a meeting of the National Assembly on Friday.
The commendation offered to the RGC by rights groups subsequent to this ban however has already been tainted by the recent manifestation of a loophole, which will allow 3,000 recruits who are already registered with the Ministry of Labor to be sent by agencies to work as maids in Malaysia in spite of the freeze.
On Monday the Association for Cambodian Recruitment Agencies (ACRA) expressed its discontent with the ban before meeting with the Ministry of Labor. Prior to the meeting, representatives of agencies cited fears of economic losses they would incur on the back of the ban, for training, lodgment and registering of recruits who would now not be allowed to travel. It seems the Ministry was swayed by the concerns of these companies, as following the meeting it announced that the ban came with an exemption for workers who had already registered to work in Malaysia. This is in flagrant opposition to the ban which was supposedly issued for the protection of Cambodian workers who have been or are at risk of being mistreated by recruitment agencies and Malaysian employers due to the dangerous lack of monitoring and regulation currently in place.
Since January 2011 ADHOC has received 61 complaints from recruits who had been mistreated by agencies and from relatives of domestic workers in Malaysia citing abuse by employers. Complaints range from reports of overwork, confinement, lack of contact with friends and family, withholding wages and travel documents, starvation, and mental abuse, to rape and physical violence. Priority should be given to the rights of these people and to the hundreds more who are at risk of similar abuse.
It is illogical and an utter contradiction of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s original ban to now send a further 3,000 registered recruits to Malaysia. The root concerns and reasons for the initial freeze are still valid, therefore there should be a blanket halt on sending domestic workers to Malaysia before adequate safety regulations are put in place and international labor standards are guaranteed. The economic consequences for recruitment agencies in Cambodia is not an adequate reason for exempting a ban that will prevent further abuse of Cambodian workers in Malaysia, and if this is of great concern the RGC should honor its commitment to at-risk migrant workers and pay compensation to the companies.
ADHOC urges the RGC to put the safety and well-being of its people above the interests of recruitment companies and to stop sending domestic workers to Malaysia until their labor rights can be guaranteed.
For additional information please contact: Sawada Chan Krisna, Head of Women’s and Children’s Rights Program, ADHOC: 017 384 301
Lim Mony, Deputy Head of Women’s and Children’s Rights Program, ADHOC: 012 834 449
