KAMPONG CHNANG, Cambodia – January 20, 2024

In 2022, more than 3,900 Cambodian factory workers were injured as transportation vehicles for workers are often poorly maintained, overloaded, and unsafe for passenger transportation. These commuting risks are preventable. To address these dangers as part of the Prevention & Participation Program, AIP Foundation and VF Corporation hosted two consecutive ‘Factory Level Meetings to Discuss the Possibility to Transition from Trucks to Safer Vehicles’ held in collaboration with the District Administrative, Provincial Administrative, and Hozion Outdoor in December 2023 and January 2024.

The Prevention & Participation program aims to address commuting safety issues for Cambodian factory workers. The program is implemented at 13 factories, reaching approximately 52,000 workers and drivers across 6 provinces. The program is supported by VF Corporation and aims to improve worker transport (vehicle and driver licensing), reduce dangerous driver behaviors like overtaking, distracted driving, and non-helmet wearing, and improve infrastructure and traffic management around factories.

Advocating for Safer Commuting Conditions

48 stakeholders from the Department of Public Works and Transportation (DoPWT) of Kampong Chnang, Kampong Trach District district representatives, factory management representatives, collective transport drivers, road safety working group members, and workers’ representatives attended the meeting. The main objective of the workshop aimed to engage partners to:

Promote dialogue between factory management, drivers, workers’ representatives, and relevant stakeholders regarding the transition from unsafe use of trucks and modified vehicles to seated passenger vehicles for worker transportation.

• Discuss the challenges, action plans, and propose solutions for implementing safer vehicles (vans, buses, minibusses, or seated vehicles)

Im Piseth, AIP Foundation Program Manager in Cambodia, presented on the program, its’ components, the importance of transitioning to safer vehicles, and existing solutions that can be implemented. This presentation highlighted the consequences of crash cases, including economic disadvantages for workers and families, productivity loss for the factory production system (late product orders, new recruitment, and payment and increased cost burden for relevant government institutions.

Outcomes: Increasing Joint Actions for Commuting Safety

As part of the meeting to discuss the ‘Possibility of transitioning from Trucks to Safer Vehicles,’ relevant stakeholders addressed the need to collaborate cross-functionally. Government authorities are working to assess the road conditions surrounding factories and workers’ communities. Factory managers are considering hiring collective transport drivers to ensure safer vehicles. Factory workers will consider adding $3 dollars toward their transportation budget but urge the government and factory management to increase workers’ transportation allowance. AIP Foundation concluded the meeting and shared the proposed solutions with the National Security Fund (NSSF), the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, and the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation.