Cambodia has come far from the era of conflict in terms of political reconstruction. Two
national elections and communal elections have been held in the past decade, which are
important steps towards democracy and decentralization. Economic reconstruction has also
been significant, based on the transition from a centrally planned to a market based
economy. The macro-instability of the 1980s has been replaced by the concerted reforms of
the 1990s. These reforms have yielded growth and development, but not enough. Poverty
has remained very high. And growth has proved fragile.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) holds that the only sustainable route out of
poverty is through the generation of productive work, and through enabling workers to do
that work. Because the poor largely work, poverty reduction implies even more importantly
an improvement in their conditions of work, the generation of decent work. The generation
of decent work has to be enabled by a number of elements, including: generating demand
for labour; increasing the productivity of labour and its returns; increasing the security and
protection of labour; improving working conditions; enhancing workers’ rights; and
strengthening dialogue to underpin all of these elements. A critical aspect of decent work is
the reduction and elimination of particularly glaring vulnerabilities and deficits in such areas
as children in hazardous work, child labour in general, the trafficking of children and
women, discrimination against women and the protection of the vulnerable, with particular
reference to the disabled, orphans and HIV/AIDS victims. The only sustainable route out of
poverty is therefore through the generation of decent work and by equipping workers to do
that work.