At least 23 garment workers and three others sustained injuries after a truck carrying the workers hit a motorbike in Cambodia’s Svay Rieng Province in Bavet town on February 21, 2018.
The truck driver, who reportedly fled from the accident site, has primarily been held responsible for the accident, informed the Traffic Police Chief of Bavet town as reported.
The injured were rushed to the nearby hospital where they were given the required treatment. Medical expenses of the victims will be taken care by the National Social Security Fund, which is responsible for providing the basic social security to the workers in the Cambodia private sectors.
These road accidents are demoralising the workers thereby damaging the productivity of the Cambodian garment industry. Cambodia reported at least 33 deaths and 2,193 injuries in a total of 1,691 road accidents involving garment workers in the year 2017.
According to a National Social Security Fund report, Cambodian garment workers were involved in 5,609 traffic accidents in the year 2016.
Garment workers reportedly face accidents on an almost daily basis.
A national policy, aimed to improve roads and infrastructure, increase vehicle safety and eradicate the management’s oversight of the issue, was launched by the Ministry of Labour last month.
Notably, the Cambodian Government last year announced that it was considering to construct a railway line connecting Phnom Penh and select provinces to SEZs and industrial areas in view of the high number of road accidents involving commuting workers. Any update on the same is yet to be received.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
