A report on Laos released by the World Bank has found that the garment industry is unable to maintain its trained workforce, primarily due to poor conditions for its workers.
The garment industry in Laos, a developing South East Asian nation, contributes approximately 200 million U.S. dollars in exports annually, most of which are sold to the European Union. As the largest formal sector of manufacturing employment, it is significant in the Lao government's attempts to rapidly develop the country.
The World Bank report, released last week found that attrition from large and medium firms is around 3.5 percent of the workforce every month.
According to the report, these rates are high, even by regional industry standards, and it is primarily due to long working hours and poor living conditions for workers.
"The dormitory where I stay is three storeys and it is divided into rooms ... some rooms have up to 20 people. Before being a dorm, it was a storage room: they just put fans in, then put us in it," a Lao factory worker told World Bank researchers.
Workers also complained about insufficient drinking water, poor air quality and heat, inadequate sanitation facilities, difficult living conditions, strict factory rules and difficult relations with supervisors. These ongoing issues have also added to the perception that there is a lack of credible information on the Lao garment industry's labor standards and management practices, which in turn deters premium buyers.
The high turn-over of workers prevent companies from being able to train their staff fully and from hiring a full complement of staff. The report suggested improved support to workers transitioning to factory work, and better representation and dispute resolution for workers. The report also suggested the establishment of a program for monitoring and certifying firms which met certain labor conditions, which would aid in their access to premium buyers./.