Sometimes all of the critical reports, and all of the news media attention do not deter corporations that relocate from the United States to Third World countries in brutally exploiting the workers in these lands. So one organization, the International Labor Organization (ILO), is trying a different approach. In the specific case of Cambodia, the ILO takes the names and reports about the working conditions in these corporations’ workshops and publicizes this information all over the world. The tactic is to publicly “shame” those corporations that do not adhere even to the labor laws of the countries they have placed their factories in.

                              Once these “shaming reports” are published, those companies named in the reports can either reform the conditions in their factories or boycotts of their products will force these companies to shut down their factories in Cambodia. This is easier said than done. The Cambodian government is reluctant to let any garment factory shut down, and the government has used force to make sure that labor organizers or even personnel of the ILO are unable to get the information they need to publicize the plight of Cambodian garment workers. However, the ILO plan has received help from Cambodian organizations such as the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.

                               Interestingly enough, the ILO’s plan has also received support from major international garment corporations like H & M, which many factories in Phnom Phen—the capital of Cambodia. Their reasoning is that it will aid in corporate transparency and make for a better working environment for the workers. Of course, H & M in Cambodia is an exception to the rule. What is important is that many Cambodian workers support ILO’s plan because it helps to improve their working conditions and make better wages. As promising as all this is, the ILO has a major uphill battle in changing the way corporations do things in Cambodia and how they treat their workers. But at least it is a good step in the good fight.