Involvement of Caritas Cambodia in addressing the Impact of the Global Economic Crisis to the garment and agriculture sectors and Need for Policy Responses.

The global financial crisis has started since early 2008 and has impacts to almost every country of the world. Like other countries, Cambodia has suffered from the crisis, which not only undermines its macroeconomic performance, but also has a negative social impact and worsens poverty. It is obviously known that the main engine growth of Cambodia economy is depending on 4 pillars, the garment textile, construction, and tourism and also agriculture sector. But due to the occurrence of the global crisis, the four pillars are affected resulting to further crisis. More and more garment factories are closed down and the foreign order is in declined. The unemployment rate is getting higher especially garment workers, about 50000 workers are unemployed (March, 2009).
The construction is interrupted and less investment. The numbers of tourists become lower and the price of the agriculture product is decreasing. The income is decreasing; people start to reduce their daily consumption and their other unnecessary private expenses. Health status of the poor is also a concern. Children are obligated to drop school in order to find an extra income for the family. The current and continued economic crisis is going to worsen the life of the poor and the vulnerable group of people.

With an effort to be part of a resolution, Caritas Cambodia has taken part with other NGOs members including the NGO forum on Cambodia, Cambodia Economic Association (CEA), Oxfam America and GB, Women Agenda for Change (WAC), Action Aid, Star Kampuchea and CCC to organize 3 important workshops on the Impact of the Global Crisis to the livelihood of the poor farmers and workers and seek for policy response. The forum is initiated to give the opportunity to the vulnerable group and those who suffered the most to voice out their problems, concerns to the government and other development partners in order to seek for policy response. Further, this is also an opportunity for the government and the development partners to inform their policy response.

Yet, several meetings have been conducted among the organizing members to address the issue. All was agreed that the National Public Forum has to be conducted. It is supposed to have approximately 300 people from the government, development partners, NGOs, farmers and workers representatives, students, private sectors and key stakeholders.

Workers Workshop organized by Women Agenda for Change, Caritas Cambodia and The NGO Forum on Cambodia Caritas Cambodia in collaboration with the NGO forum on Cambodia and Women Agenda for Change (WAC) organized a Workers Workshop on the Impact of the Global Crisis to garment workers. It was conducted on 21 June, 2009 at Caritas Cambodia National Office and received approximately 80 people.

		Workers representatives voiced their problems, concerns and recommendations.
Approximately 80 people including the garment workers, unemployed workers, private sector representatives, NGOs participated the workshop

The forum then produced a paper of concern and proposal on the impact of the Global Economic Crisis to the garment sector. All of these issues have led to legal incompliant working conditions for workers and to the reductions of household income which are consequently driving more people into the deeper poverty. In the final paper to put for the government, it stated on 3 important points as below:

1. Concern and Impacts
2. Losing job threatens working conditions of garment workers
3. Unemployment undermine efforts in poverty reduction in Cambodia and
4. Suggestions to the –Government-NGOs –Development partners and Private Sector.

1. Decrease of family incomes: some families suffered the loss of capitals and were unable to make incomes from their agricultural productivities due to increased costs of agricultural commodities and materials used for farming and low price of their harvested products and limited markets for their productivities .
2. Job loss of farmers: farmers who used to earn incomes by selling labors in the upland farms and getting involved in subsidiary employments such as selling labors face unemployment thanks to less demand of the markets and reduced expenses by some big merchants.
3. Health worsening: Due to income decrease, some farmers have reduced their food intakes or taken inadequate nutritions in order to reduce expenses. This deteriorates their health and they, thus, are susceptable to various diseases. Some of their incomes are used to spend on treatments and drugs.
4. Children drop out of school: according to farmers, some parents already stoped or suspended their child study to earn livings such as selling labors in order to cope with their family expenses.
5. Social problems: the farmer representatives said that there are thieves in the villages, violences in families because of loans and emotional pressures caused by livelihood situations and instability.

1. Increase of debt:
2. Migration and risks:
3. To withdraw children from school is the first affordability

The deputy district governor was presided over the workshop		Farmer is eager to know the government policy response towards the mitigation of the impact of the global crisis.

Caritas Cambodia acts as a moderator in the first session – the speakers are the General Director of the General Directorate of labor, Ministry of the Labor and Vocational training, representative from ILO , the President of Cambodian Labor Confederation and speaker from CDRI-Cambodia Development Resources Institute