PHNOM PENH, Feb 10 (Reuters): US clothing retailer Gap will help pay for the training of 650 Cambodian garment factory foremen to improve labour relations in an industry which forms the backbone of the war-scarred southeast Asian nation's economy. The $80,000 year-long programme, which is being run in conjunction with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private enterprise arm of the World Bank, kicks off in March, Bank officials said Wednesday. A similar scheme in Indonesia focusing on worker-supervisor relations and dispute resolution had led to less absenteeism, fewer strikes and better quality standards, meaning both managers and workers benefited, said Adam Sack of the IFC. Costs of training, which amounts to four days per person, are being shared by Gap, the IFC and the factories themselves. The garment industry accounts for more than 80 per cent of Cambodia's $1.4 billion annual exports, but a question mark hangs over its future after the expiry last year of a unique US quota deal that has nurtured its rapid growth. Building on the US deal, which tied increases in quotas to improvements in working conditions, Cambodia is positioning itself as a haven of labour rights, where international retailers can source clothes without risking sweatshop labour scandals.
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