TUC General Secretary writes to Vince Cable, expresses concern over Cambodian worker unrest

Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the UK based Trade Union Congress (TUC) has written to Vince Cable, Secretary, State for Business Innovation and Skills on the need for the UK to intervene and call for Cambodia’s trade privileges granted under the EU’s ‘Generalised System of Preferences’ (GSP) to address the repression of workers in Cambodia. The letter also suggested the government to raise this matter with UK companies who source from Cambodian factories.  O’Grady further proposed that the EU must negotiate a “Sustainability Compact” with Cambodia similar to Bangladesh since labour provisions of trade preference schemes can be a vital tool for raising labour standards and combating income inequality.