abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Story

30 Jan 2013

Striking garment factory workers in Cambodia

Throughout January 2013 garment factory workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, camped out and protested in front of Kingsland factory (part of Gold Ocean) demanding payment of overdue wages and benefits.  According to the workers, in September 2012, they were told not to come into work due to lack of orders, but were assured they would be paid 50% of their salary until work resumed in January 2013.  Shortly thereafter, Kingsland owners declared bankruptcy and fled the country.  The protesters claimed they were owned $200,000 by the Hong-Kong based company that allegedly worked with Walmart and H&M suppliers. 

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited the companies involved to respond to the following items:

- "Cambodian Garment Workers seek support from Walmart, H&M shoppers" [video], Paula Stromberg, 30 Jan 2013
- "The Plight of Cambodia's garment workers", Clothilde Le Coz, Asian Correspondent, 1 Feb 2013 

Company responses/non-responses:
H&M response [PDF]
- Walmart referred us to this Bloomberg article 

We attempted to invite Kingsland/Gold Ocean to respond, but were unable to find current contact information.

March 2013 update 
According to a recent article, on 1 March 2013 Walmart and H&M suppliers agreed to pay about $145,000 in back pay and severance to 160 Kingsland factory workers:

"Wal-Mart and H&M Suppliers Pay Workers at Closed Cambodian Plant", Renee Dudley, Bloomberg, 2 Mar 2013

Company Responses

Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) View Response
Walmart de México (part of Walmart) View Response

Timeline

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.