The international workers rights organization Solidarity Center launched a new project this week focused on supporting vulnerable workers impacted by climate change as industries shift to more sustainable production. The Just Transition for Workers project will be implemented in Phnom Penh, Battambang, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.
At the launch event on Thursday, Solidarity Center staff presented the project to union partners, local worker associations and government officials.
“It’s essential that workers and unions are brought in as key stakeholders in the climate change transition to ensure that a green economy has good, secure and union jobs with living wages and collective bargaining rights,” said Fred Azcarate, Solidarity Center’s Asia Regional Program Director.
The organization highlighted that Cambodia has a high level of vulnerability to the climate crisis while also having a low level of readiness for climate change. Workers are on the front lines, experiencing extreme heat and flooding while trying to earn a living.
Cambodians from rural areas are being driven into cities as farming and fishing become less tenable sources of income. But as they reach urban areas, they are often working hazardous jobs in the informal economy without many safeguards.
Workers and unions have been largely left out of the development of Cambodia’s climate policies and low-emission industries, according to the Solidarity Center.
The project will focus on the construction industry, including infrastructure and clean energy sectors, the informal economy, specifically street vendors and drivers, and the garment sector.
Vorn Pao, President of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA), has seen how climate change can affect workers in the informal economy, such as floods preventing street vendors from making an income.
“Workers in the informal economy, like street vendors, motor drivers, tuk tuk drivers, food delivery workers, are affected, and climate change affects their health,” he said. “Climate change requires social protection. If there are [effects] of climate change, the government should release a social fund to support vulnerable people.”
He said he continues to urge relevant organizations and government officials to provide social protection to these informal economy workers, as he wants to make sure the issue is heard by the government.
Yan Thy, Secretary General of the Building and Wood Trade Union, said that construction workers are now affected by climate change but most of them are not accessing social protection services from the government as they would in other sectors.
One issue with construction workers is that they often switch from employer to employer as projects are completed. This has made it more difficult for them to receive government benefits, compared to garment workers who stay with one factory, he said.
“The majority of construction workers do not get social protection services. So we need to follow the national and international law and add climate change issues to the new law that the ministry has drafted, ” he said, referring to a master plan on occupational safety released by the Labour Ministry in July.
Meas Sophal with the Ministry of Environment said the project needs to have clear partnerships outlined, such as with corporate stakeholders, who will work together with Solidarity Center to monitor progress.
“Climate change has an effect on people’s lives. It’s a global issue and also affects our country,” he said, adding that the government’s pentagon strategy announced in August will support climate change issues and the green economy in Cambodia
Joe Buckley, Solidarity Center Cambodia Program Development Coordinator, emphasized that workers and unions are central to a just transition.
“Workers are the ones who will be doing the actual work when it comes to transitioning to a low carbon economy and building the infrastructure that’s needed,” he said. “Without workers and their unions, a transition cannot be just.”
