This report is based on research undertaken with garment workers in 2006. It asks whether or not the development of the garment industry in Cambodia has led to the creation of decent work. It also identifies what measures can be taken to ensure that the industry is not built on undermining labour rights and the principles of decent work - employment creation, equality between men and women, social dialogue, rights at work and social protection. Overall the research found that the emergence of a rapidly developing textile industry over the past decade has provided thousands of poor Cambodian women with much needed work and enabled them to send money back to their families in the countryside.

However, although improvements have clearly been made, in many cases the industry is still failing to provide decent work as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its role in future poverty alleviation is unclear.