Cambodian women on construction sites
-
- Wun Gwo Pee
- Reactions: 0
- Posts: 2484
- Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2014 8:07 am
Cambodian women on construction sites
Excellent article here from Al Jeezera about the plight of female construction workers in Cambodia:
In the blazing afternoon sun, Chhou Ouch looks like any other construction worker defying the heat while making multiple trips, carrying bricks to a building site.
The first detail that betrays her gender on closer inspection, are the multicoloured pyjamas the 32-year-old mother of two is sporting.
It is only after she removes her helmet and a scarf, which is meticulously wrapped around her face to shield it from the sun, that her delicate face and long ponytail emerge.
"This is a man's job but I can do it too," she proclaims as she takes off her gloves, revealing a hand with vanishing polish on the nails.
She is one of around 1,000 female construction workers who are helping to build rows of semi-detached villas. Hired by a local developer, they work six days a week, alongside 2,000 male colleagues.
Just a few years ago, a development project of this scale, and Ouch's presence on it, would have been considered a rarity in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. But both have now become an integral part of the urban landscape.
Today, the construction industry is the linchpin of Cambodia's economy, rendering the capital's skyline almost as unpredictable as its traffic - new high-rise apartment buildings and opulent gated communities seem to appear overnight.
The Treasury of Building and Wood Worker Trade Union of Cambodia estimates that women make up around 35 percent of the country's 175,000 construction workers
According to the 2015 Cambodia Economic Update report published by the World Bank, as the garment industry has experienced a slowdown, the construction and real estate sectors have become the most dynamic engines of growth in Cambodia.
This construction boom created new jobs and attracted a new workforce: women.
Experts suggest that an unprecedented number of women in this traditionally conservative society have turned to the male-dominated construction sector in order to sustain their families.
Sou Chhlonh, from the Treasury of Building and Wood Worker Trade Union of Cambodia, estimates that women make up around 35 percent of the 175,000 construction workers in the Southeast Asian country. But due to the seasonal and informal nature of their jobs, and because there is still little research on the subject, he admits, these numbers may vary.
"About 30 percent to 35 percent of workers on construction sites are woman but it's still a problem for us to estimate this exactly as their work is not regular," Chhlonh told Al Jazeera.
Most of them, he says, migrate from rural areas to Phnom Penh to work with their husbands as daily "unskilled" labourers, with the aim of supporting themselves and their "parents or family in their hometown".
Many bring their children along, but Ouch, who is only two days into her construction career, says she left hers with their grandparents, "so they can study".
She did, however, come here with her husband Ton, her sister Vanny and with "many friends" from her village in Kampot province.
"I am here to earn money for our future life. I have a farm but the rice yields are not enough to sustain my family," Ouch says, picking up another batch of bricks.
She seems optimistic and unfazed by the lack of job security, and has a relaxed attitude towards safety on site. Like most of the workers here, although she wears a helmet - which she had to buy herself - her feet are protected from injury only by the strings of her flip-flops and the socks she wears with them.
"Flip-flops are comfortable," she says.
Ouch does not have a contract. "This is seasonal work for me. I will go back home for the rice harvest in July. Then back again here in September," she says, and hastily returns to her work.
Although many of the women on the site seem content, some are concerned about their future.
"I am worried about my job," says 33-year-old Chhorn Chunta, who is tasked with cutting steel bars and carrying them to the numerous skeletons of villas scattered across the complex.
"What's going to happen to us when the construction is over?" asks a woman from Kampong Speu province, who was previously a farmer. "I am also worried if I have an accident what will happen to me. The company won't pay for my hospital bills."
In a telephone interview, the spokesman for the Ministry of Labour, Heng Sour, said he hadn't received any complaints from female construction workers and consequently couldn't discuss their situation.
More here: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/featur ... 03764.html
-
- Damn, I just saw my Internet Bill !
- Reactions: 3
- Posts: 4420
- Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2012 3:04 pm
How is honest work a "plight"? They've been working construction for years. I've never heard of gender specific abuse in the sector.
Last edited by LexusSchmexus on Wed Apr 06, 2016 10:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Agreed. What a load of old shite. They are much better at many trades too. Plastering for sure. And take more pride in their work,as is mostly the case here.
-
- Least Likely to be a Moderator, ever !
- Reactions: 0
- Posts: 3940
- Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 1:29 pm
- badboybubby
- I need professional help
- Reactions: 0
- Posts: 1225
- Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:03 pm
- Location: getting closer
similar story was covered here a few years ago...don't see why people are getting all incredulous about it...
so it's not new...big deal...
so it's not new...big deal...
He's been in his room 35 years...time to let him out!
-
- Damn, I just saw my Internet Bill !
- Reactions: 3
- Posts: 4337
- Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:29 pm
Most definitely.krisduncs wrote:Agreed. What a load of old shite. They are much better at many trades too. Plastering for sure.
- badboybubby
- I need professional help
- Reactions: 0
- Posts: 1225
- Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:03 pm
- Location: getting closer
ps. what fault are you referring to?...why be so crass?Chuck Wow wrote:Erecting buildings or Erecting Cocks... seems the "plight" of the unskilled and uneducated is everyone's fault but their own.
He's been in his room 35 years...time to let him out!
- Jamie_Lambo
- Internet Addiction: it is real
- Reactions: 15
- Posts: 4002
- Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2014 3:13 pm
- Location: Pig Penh
i love the female construction workers over here, i wish british building sites encouraged it more
Mean Dtuk Mean Trey, Mean Loy Mean Srey
Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks
Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks
- ali baba
- "Suit up!"
- Reactions: 12
- Posts: 2982
- Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 5:46 am
- Location: Equadorian Embassy
He expects peasants to acquire an education and skills all by themselves since he taught himself how to read, count and swim all by himself without any input from school, parents or anybody else.badboybubby wrote:ps. what fault are you referring to?...why be so crass?Chuck Wow wrote:Erecting buildings or Erecting Cocks... seems the "plight" of the unskilled and uneducated is everyone's fault but their own.
He thinks people can literally pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
C'mere c'meye
-
- I need professional help
- Reactions: 0
- Posts: 1017
- Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2011 1:35 pm
- Location: Ba Ria-Vung Tau, VN
Watched many a pretty walking along Sukhumvit after work on their way to their stylish tin shacks in the evening. Almost all Burmese or Cambodian. Some looked uncomfortably young, as in age 14-16. Could just be my old eyes.Jamie_Lambo wrote:i love the female construction workers over here, i wish british building sites encouraged it more
"We want our country to develop step by step. But that is such a long way off . . . as far away as the stars."
Jobless father in documentary Cambodia: Country of Scars.
Jobless father in documentary Cambodia: Country of Scars.
- Lucky Lucan
- K440 Knight Captain
- Reactions: 761
- Posts: 22525
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 12:24 pm
- Location: The Pearl of the Orient
Having to work with male builders is a plight. It seems mandatory for them to be complete fucking morons. I've got one leaning over my shoulder watching me type this.
Romantic Cambodia is dead and gone. It's with McKinley in the grave.
- badboybubby
- I need professional help
- Reactions: 0
- Posts: 1225
- Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:03 pm
- Location: getting closer
^^
sounds like you're confident about his inability to read (english)...
sounds like you're confident about his inability to read (english)...
He's been in his room 35 years...time to let him out!
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
-
Do Cambodian women steam their hoohas after giving birth?
by Slate » Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:46 pm » in Questions and Answers - 43 Replies
- 10776 Views
-
Last post by Guest999
Sat Sep 26, 2020 7:53 am
-
-
-
Cambodian women post swimwear photos to protest law on how they dress
by Bong Burgundy » Mon Aug 10, 2020 3:20 am » in Cambodia News - 10 Replies
- 4398 Views
-
Last post by trickydicky
Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:48 am
-
-
- 2 Replies
- 1636 Views
-
Last post by Lucky Lucan
Mon Feb 17, 2020 5:42 pm
-
-
What online sites do you guys order from?
by javascript_developer » Sat Oct 12, 2019 3:42 am » in Questions and Answers - 6 Replies
- 3633 Views
-
Last post by dv8inpp
Sun Oct 20, 2019 4:30 pm
-
-
-
Khmer Rouge sites in Paris?
by barangPP » Fri Sep 08, 2023 1:05 pm » in Cambodian History and Culture - 2 Replies
- 1209 Views
-
Last post by barangPP
Sat Sep 09, 2023 8:31 pm
-