jeroen Merk
Academically, I hold a PhD in International Relations from the University of Sussex, Brighton. My research interests lie at the crossroads of international relations, political economy, social movements, and the governance institutions of global industrial relations. I have been particularly concerned with analysing the shifting nature of worker-employer relations within local, national and global (supply-chain) contexts. Between 2003 and 2-2013, I was a research and policy coordinator at the International Secretariat of the Clean Clothes Campaign, a labour rights NGO with branches in 15 European countries and an extended network of partners in production countries. Here I obtained thorough expert knowledge on working conditions, private regulatory instruments and social movements activities in the spatially dispersed garment industry. Among other things, I was responsible for coordinating, planning and publishing research on the impact of private governance instruments on labour relations and working conditions. I have closely collaborated with unions, labour NGOs and researchers, mostly from South and South-East Asia, on these topics.
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CCC and CLCE conclude that Cambodian labour rights organisations consider the BFC as a positive development, though working conditions in Cambodia’s garment industry remain very poor generally. 'The real wages workers receive have actually declined 14 per cent since 2000 in relation to inflation rates. In other words, garment workers have become poorer since the Better Factories Cambodia program was launched. The report formulates recommendations around six areas where the BFC program could be improved: promoting sanctions for factories violating labour laws; increasing union involvement; expanding its scope to subcontracted factories; improving the monitoring process; improving transparency; and, finally, taking the responsibilities of buyers seriously. CCC and CLEC believe that addressing these issues will help achieving the BFC’s goal, which is to improve working conditions in the Cambodian garment industry.
CCC and CLCE conclude that Cambodian labour rights organisations consider the BFC as a positive development, though working conditions in Cambodia’s garment industry remain very poor generally. 'The real wages workers receive have actually declined 14 per cent since 2000 in relation to inflation rates. In other words, garment workers have become poorer since the Better Factories Cambodia program was launched. The report formulates recommendations around six areas where the BFC program could be improved: promoting sanctions for factories violating labour laws; increasing union involvement; expanding its scope to subcontracted factories; improving the monitoring process; improving transparency; and, finally, taking the responsibilities of buyers seriously. CCC and CLEC believe that addressing these issues will help achieving the BFC’s goal, which is to improve working conditions in the Cambodian garment industry.