In the face of ongoing protests in Cambodia which made the garment sector nearly closed, the UN International Labour Organisation ( ILO ) on December 31, 2013 called for an end to violence and destruction of property, and encouraged the factories to be reopened.

The risks emerging from the current situation were a significant concern for the sector which continues to operate in an intensely competitive international environment, the ILO Office in Southeast Asia said in a news release.

The call was made in the context when Cambodian garment workers were going on widespread strikes with the involvement of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) for pay rise and working hour reduction.

One day earlier, garment manufacturers shuttered hundreds of their factories, nearly stopping the industry that provides 400,000 jobs and earns 5 billion USD per year from exports.

Therefore, the ILO called on all relevant parties to fully implement a working agreement signed in 2010 and renewed in 2012 between the main trade union and the Garment Manufacturers’ Association in Cambodia (GMAC) that represents 470 garment manufacturers and exporters.-VNA