manual: women workers' rights and gender equality - International ...

Notes for the trainer
During this session the participants should become aware of certain basic rights that are
guaranteed to them under the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia (1993) or Labour Code
1997. The session can be done with both formal and informal sector workers. For formal sector
workers the situation is a bit easier because they have a Labour Code on their side but some of
the rights are valid for informal sector workers as well. This is especially true for the rights on equal
pay for equal work and the right to organize because these are mentioned in the Constitution. Of
course you can always advocate and fight for rights you do not have yet. If you do not try, you will
not get them.
The following information is an overview of the basic rights at work based on the Labour Code
1997, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the ILO conventions that are ratified by the
Government.
The ILO is a technical international organization and part of the United Nations. Almost all
countries in the world are a member of the ILO and so is Cambodia. The ILO deals with the world
of work and a very important issue is: rights at work (for more information see the annex about the
ILO). For this purpose conventions are formulated. These are international treaties with binding
power and every member State can ratify a convention. When a State ratifies a convention they
should apply it in their labour laws and regulations and bring it into practice. The conventions cover
practically all aspects of human labour: employment, conditions of work, social security, industrial
relations, safety and health, equal opportunity and non discrimination.
In 1998, the ILO member States adopted the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at
Work which embodies the principles and rights laid down in eight fundamental conventions on
freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, freedom from forced labour, the
elimination of child labour and the elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation.
The eight fundamental conventions are:
Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining:
• Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87)
• Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)
The Elimination of all Forms of Forced and Compulsory Labour:
• Forced Labour Convention, 1973 (No. 29)
• Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
The Effective Abolition of Child Labour:
• Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)
• Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
The Elimination of Discrimination in Employment and Occupation:
• Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
• Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)
Although Cambodia has not ratified Convention 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour under the
Declaration, it has the obligation to respect, promote and to realize the principles concerning the
fundamental rights which are the subject of the fundamental conventions, even if it has not ratified
the convention concerned.
Conventions 100 and 111, which have been ratified by Cambodia, are two of the main instruments
to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation and to combat
discrimination in the world of work (for more details about the Conventions ratified by Cambodia
check Briefing Note 10 Introduction to the International Labour Organization).
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