Third garment crash in three days sees 25 hurt

Third garment crash in three days sees 25 hurt                   More than 20 garment workers were injured yesterday after the truck in which they were travelling veered off the road to avoid another truck in Preah Sihanouk province’s Prey Nop district, making it the third such crash in as many days.

A Ministry of Labour statement released yesterday reported that the incident occurred early yesterday morning and injured 25 workers, three of whom suffered serious injuries. The workers had been taken to the provincial hospital and other clinics, and their medical costs were being paid for by the National Social Security Fund.

Y Sokha, deputy police chief for Sihanoukville, said the crash occurred when an oncoming truck’s tyre burst, causing the driver of the truck carrying the workers to veer off the road. “Also, another car crashed into the garment workers’ truck and caused additional injuries to the workers,” he said.On Tuesday, a similar accident saw more than 60 workers hurt in Svay Rieng after the truck they were riding in flipped over due to reckless driving. Eleven workers were injured on Wednesday when two trucks collided in Kampong Speu province.

“When you have a high frequency of crashes that should create an impetus for discussion and action,” said William Conklin, country director of labour rights NGO Solidarity Centre.

“But the employers . . . can take measures and ensure safety,” he said. “This is one of the consequences of factories being unwilling to invest in their workers.”