Tearing Apart at the Seams: How Widespread Use of Fixed-Duration Contracts Threatens Cambodian Workers and the Cambodian Garment Industry

Over the past several years, the Cambodian garment industry has undergone a radical transformation in the composition of its labor force. During the mid-1990s, when the Cambodian garment industry experienced its initial boom, the majority of workers were hired on a permanent basis under what Cambodian law calls “undetermined-duration contracts” (“UDCs”). Now, factories hire new workers almost exclusively under short-term, temporary contracts, referred to in Cambodia as “fixed-duration contracts” (“FDCs”), and many workers originally hired under UDCs have faced pressure to convert their permanent contracts to FDCs.