More than 100 workers fainted in Cambodia factories producing Puma & Adidas attire

Garment workers recover at a hospital after fainting at a factory in Phnom Penh on Thursday, April 3, 2014. Scores of garment workers have fallen sick at factories in Cambodia including two that produce clothing for sportswear giants Puma SE and
Garment workers recover at a hospital after fainting at a factory in Phnom Penh on Thursday, April 3, 2014. Scores of garment workers have fallen sick at factories in Cambodia including two that produce clothing for sportswear giants Puma SE and Adidas, police and workers said on Thursday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

PHNOM PENH (REUTERS) - Scores of garment workers have fallen sick at factories in Cambodia including two that produce clothing for sportswear giants Puma SE and Adidas, police and workers said on Thursday.

A total of 118 employees passed out at work on Thursday at the Shen Zhou and Daqian Textile factories in Phnom Penh, police said, another blow for an industry fraught with disputes but critical to Cambodia's fledgling economy.

"We don't know why but one worker was sick and others just saw them and began to collapse," district police chief Khem Saran told Reuters.

He said 53 employees had fallen sick at another factory because of the strong smell of paint. Labour rights NGO Community Legal Education Centre said more than 200 workers had fainted this week.

"It was hot and I began to vomit, I had diarrhoea and others had the same problems," said Ms Nguon Sarith, 30, who was hooked up to an intravenous drip at a hospital in the capital. She said she didn't know the cause.

Puma and Adidas said they were investigating the faintings at the two factories and would respond soon.

Mass faintings are all too familiar in Cambodia, which has become an important manufacturing centre for many high street fashion brands.

Garment makers have often complained of poor ventilation, strong chemicals and use of potent glue for footwear, although official investigations in recent years have been largely inconclusive.

There were more than 1,000 faintings reported in 2011 alone in factories that are mostly owned by Chinese, Taiwanese and South Koreans. Most workers earn less than US$100 (S$126) per month and many volunteer for overtime to boost their income.

The problems do not stop at faintings. The industry has been plagued by unrest in recent months, with long-running disputes over pay mushrooming into nationwide strikes and anti-government protests that have been violently suppressed by security forces.

Some 18 unions plan to hold a week-long strike on April 17 to demand a minimum wage rise to US$160 monthly from US$100. The last strike was put down hard by authorities, who on Jan 3 used live ammunition to disperse crowds, killing five workers.

Garment manufacturing earns Cambodia more than US$5 billion a year in revenue and employs some 600,000 people, many of them breadwinners for impoverished families in the countryside.

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