originally published by M&C-news on this link: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/health/features/article_1557783.php/Foreign-brewers-accused-of-exploitation-in-Cambodia-Feature copyright rests with the Deutsche Presse Agentur DPA Foreign brewers accused of exploitation in Cambodia (Feature) By Robert Carmichael May 23, 2010, 4:02 GMT Phnom Penh - Enjoying an after-work beer is common enough in Cambodia, for men at least. In hundreds of beer gardens, female beer promoters in corporate uniforms bearing the names of international or local brands try to entice them to buy their beer. But working as a beer promoter is frowned upon socially. Sharon Wilkinson, who heads Care International, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that works with the women, says they are typically viewed as little more than sex workers. Wilkinson says beer gardens are an environment where 'sexual harassment including physical abuse is high.' Hers is a point of view that resonates with researchers from Canada's University of Guelph. In a recent report, they conclude that brewers, including the world's largest beer firms, are exploiting women by allowing local distributors to underpay them. A key finding was that 57 per cent of 122 beer promoters surveyed last year in Siem Reap in north-western Cambodia were compelled to engage in sex work to supplement their average monthly incomes of 81 dollars. Professor Ian Lubek, who led the research, says wages for the country's 4,000 beer promoters must double to reduce the risk of HIV infection. 'A living wage is required,' he says, explaining salaries would need to rise to 200 dollars monthly. 'Beer sellers, no matter what brand, have never received a living wage in Cambodia.' Lubek says the women support three to four people each and describes workplace conditions as 'toxic' with sexual harassment and excessive drinking common. For their part, the world's four biggest brewers reject the claim that low wages force some beer promoters to engage in sex work. The brewers - Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, London's SAB-Miller PLC, Dutch firm Heineken NV and Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S - together sell half the world's beer and enjoy the lion's share of the Cambodian market. They say beer promoters, who they stress are employed by distributors and not the brewers, receive adequate wages. The brewers have been criticized before and in 2006 set up an association to improve conditions. The objectives of the Beer Selling Industry of Cambodia include ensuring women have work contracts, receive proper training and have clear grievance procedures. Carlsberg spokeswoman Berky Kong says an association survey showed average monthly incomes, including commission, were 110 dollars. 'The pay we are offering is actually very good money for them, considering their actual working hours per day are four to six hours,' Kong said of Carlsberg's 635 beer promoters. Garment workers, by contrast, receive around 50 dollars a month for longer hours, she said. Kong says beer promoters are 'normally not the only person bringing income to the family' but declined to say how many of Carlsberg's promoters are single women and, therefore, more likely to be in such a position. Association rules also prohibit beer promoters from drinking alcohol at work although Lubek found 99 per cent still drink daily and most to excess, citing pressure from customers. That adds to the risk of contracting HIV, he said. Beer promoters have long been among those most at risk of contracting HIV in Cambodia. The government's National Aids Authority says 0.9 per cent of the adult population is HIV-positive. Although the rate among beer promoters remains unknown, rates of 20 per cent have been cited by NGOs. Cambodia is undergoing a shift in sexual behaviour since a 2008 law banned prostitution. Organizations such as the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS are worried that fewer measures could be taken to combat the risks as sex work moves from brothels into beer gardens and karaoke parlours. Lubek's report states that 80 beer promoters of 900 interviewed in the past seven years in Siem Reap have since died. He says he believes HIV-related infections are the reason although a lack of death certificates means their causes of death remain unknown. 'But that so many women should die so young - average age 25 years - is startling,' he says. The brewers say providing anti-retrovirals - another demand of Lubek's report - is unsuitable. Heineken's press officer Jeroen Breuer says the firm leaves that to the health service. 'What Heineken does is focus on providing information and education,' Breuer says. It is a position with which Care International agrees, not least since HIV-positive Cambodians remain stigmatized. Besides that, relying on an employer for life-saving medication might prevent women from moving jobs. 'If we're really going to make the change, we have to change the behaviour of the drinking man,' Wilkinson says. 'That's where the change comes, and that's what we're working on.' * - * - * - * - * - * - * story originally appeared in VOANews in this link: http://www1.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/cambodia/Cambodias-Female-Beer-Promoters-are-HIV-Health-Risk-94813219.html Cambodia's Female Beer Promoters are HIV Health Risk Robert Carmichael, VOA | Phnom Penh Tuesday, 25 May 2010 "Women generally who are working in the entertainment industry in Cambodia - whether it is karaoke, massage parlors, in the beer promotion work - they are stigmatized by society. They are considered to be bad women." Cambodia's drinking culture sees groups of men head to beer gardens after work. Once there, women in uniforms advertising global brands try to persuade the men to drink their brand, but risks to the health of these women have some worried. Across Cambodia about 4,000 women work as beer promoters in hundreds of beer halls. Their job is to persuade men to drink their brand of beer. But a new report by Professor Ian Lubek of Canada's University of Guelph says the low wages beer promoters receive force many into sex work. The beer promoters are paid between $80 and $110 a month by local distributors. A family in Cambodia needs about $200 a month to get by. The report says 57 percent of beer promoters interviewed last year in the town of Siem Reap engaged in sex work. Lubek says the sex work leads to a high HIV risk. He believes HIV-related infections are behind a death rate of nearly 10 percent among 900 beer promoters in Siem Reap during the past seven years. Speaking on Skype, Lubek says the women's average age at death was just 25. "We feel that it is an economically driven activity. It is quite shameful to them - they lose respect in their home villages. They cannot get married because they agree to sell sex. But they have no other way." The government's National AIDS Authority says an ongoing challenge is responding to sex work that now takes place outside brothels, after a 2008 law outlawed prostitution. It says one-in-five beer promoters reported not using condoms in a three-month survey period. The National Aids Authority says the HIV rate among the general population is 0.9 percent. No one knows the actual rate among beer promoters, but figures as high as 20 percent have been cited. The country head of non-governmental aid organization CARE International, Sharon Wilkinson, says her group found less than one-third of beer promoters interviewed in Phnom Penh had sold sex - about half the rate Professor Lubek reported. But she says beer-gardens are a tough workplace. "It is an environment in which sexual harassment, including physical abuse, is high." Wilkinson says the best way to improve the women's position is to change the way Cambodian men view them. "Women generally who are working in the entertainment industry in Cambodia - whether it is karaoke, massage parlors, in the beer promotion work - they are stigmatized by society. They are considered to be bad women." In response to criticisms, the major brewers in 2006 established the Beer Selling Industry of Cambodia. The association's stated objective is to improve the working conditions of beer promoters. Among other things, that includes making sure the women have clear work contracts, are provided with transport to and from work, have clear grievance procedures, receive suitable training, and are provided with culturally-appropriate uniforms. The association also bans women drinking alcohol at work, but Lubek found that prohibition was ignored by 99 percent of the women in the Siem Reap study. Most of them said they were pressured by customers to drink. Lubek says the big four brewers; Holland's Heineken, Danish brewer Carlsberg, Belgium's AB-InBev, and London-based SAB-Miller whose beer the women represent, must take more responsibility for the promoters - starting with doubling their salaries. Lubek also wants the brewers to improve training on sexual health issues and provide anti-retroviral drugs to women who need them. But the brewers say the women do not work for them, they are employed by local distributors. All four brewers contacted for this story insist their beer promoters receive adequate wages and get good training. The brewers say anti-retroviral drugs should be provided by health clinics - a stance with which Wilkinson at CARE agrees. * - * - * - * - * - * - * published by Radio Australia - originally through this link: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/connectasia/stories/201005/s2904714.htm Beer giants ignoring risks to female promoters in Cambodia Updated May 20, 2010 12:06:29 The word's largest brewers have been criticised for paying low wages to the women who promote their beers across Cambodia. Researchers from a Canadian university say the women work in a dangerous and toxic environment, but the brewers maintain they're fulfilling their obligations. Presenter: Robert Carmichael Speakers: Sharon Wilkinson, country head Care International; Professor Ian Lubek, author of report University of Guelph, Canada CARMICHAEL: Going for an after-work beer with your friends is a long-established tradition in many parts of the world, and here in Cambodia it is no different. Each evening groups of men routinely head to beer gardens like this one in Phnom Penh. There is nothing flash about the place: Around me are plastic chairs, cheap tables, a concrete floor and jugs of beer. Above is a corrugated iron roof. This beer garden - like many - looks more like a large shed than a bar or pub. The beer promotion women are easy to spot: They wear uniforms emblazoned with their brewer's logo and branding - such as Heineken, or Carlsberg, or one of the local beers. Their job is to promote their brand. The position of Cambodia's 4,000 or so beer promotion women has long been of concern to health experts. Sharon Wilkinson heads Care International, an NGO that has worked with beer promoters for six years. She says beer promoters have a low standing in Cambodian society. SHARON WILKINSON: Women generally who are working in the entertainment industry in Cambodia - whether it's karaoke, massage parlours, in the beer promotion work - they are stigmatised by society. They are considered to be bad women, even while two-thirds of the women that we're working with are working women trying earn an income to feed their children. CARMICHAEL: Researchers from Canada's University of Guelph (pronounced 'Gwelf') have studied beer promoters working in the town of Siem Reap in northwest Cambodia for a decade. Lead researcher Professor Ian Lubek says more than half of the beer promoters interviewed last year sold sex. He says low monthly salaries of $81 dollars a month force them into sex work to make ends meet, and increase their risk of contracting HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases. IAN LUBEK:Most of these beer sellers are supporting about three almost four dependents each. We feel that it's an economically-driven activity. It's quite shameful to them - they lose respect in their home villages. They can't get married because they agree to sell sex. But they have no other way. CARMICHAEL: Professor Lubek says the solution is for the world's biggest brewers to pay the women a living wage. He also wants them to provide anti-retrovirals, or ARVs, to those women who need them, and to improve training on HIV/AIDS and combating sexual harassment. The Big Four global brewers in the report are Belgium's Anheuser-Busch InBev; London-based SAB-Miller; Dutch firm Heineken; and Danish brewer Carlsberg. Between them they sell one in every two beers globally. They have the lion's share of Cambodia's beer market too. All four brewers claim wages are sufficient, and note that salaries are higher than the women would earn for more gruelling work in garment factories. Carlsberg's press office, for instance, said that a survey commissioned by the local beer industry association found average monthly income was 110 dollars. And it said Carlsberg's 635 beer promoters are generally not the sole breadwinner. But when asked to reveal how many of its beer promoters are single mothers - and who therefore would be earning less than the $200 a month a family needs - Carlsberg refused, on the grounds that to do so would be illegal in the United States. Wages aside, the four brewers say they give training on sexual health, provide free transport to and from work, and ban the women drinking alcohol while they work. And they state that the women are employed by local distributors, not directly by the brewers, which limits their responsibility. On the topic of HIV/AIDS, Professor Lubek sees a clear link between HIV risk and low wages. He says more than 80 of 900 beer promoters interviewed over the past seven years have died at an average age of just 25. He suspects HIV-related infections are at least in part to blame, but says the lack of death certificates means the causes will never be known. The brewers strongly deny any link between HIV and low wages. Care International found less than one-third of the beer promoters it interviewed in Phnom Penh had engaged in informal sex work - that's half the rate Professor Lubek found. Sharon Wilkinson says the solution lies in changing the way in which beer promotion women are viewed. SHARON WILKINSON: But if we're really going to make the change, we have to change the behaviour of the drinking man. That's where the change comes, and that's what we're working on.