Malis, not her real name, appears forlorn as she describes what her
daughters go through to secure tips from their customers.
The young women, promoters for a
major beer company, reluctantly spend their nights getting drunk on their own
product – it’s what customers demand and can be the difference between the
promoters earning tips and leaving their restaurants empty-handed.
Malis would know – she sells for
the same beer company.
“I very much pity my daughters
for following me into this work, but what can I do?” the 42-year-old says.
Getting drunk may be only a
weekly or monthly pleasure for the customers, but for the women who serve them
in restaurants, beer gardens and karaoke venues, it can be a full-time job – 27
nights a month.
“Every night, I have to talk to
clients and persuade them to drink my beer,” Malis says. “I have to force
myself to drink with the clients because it’s the only way they will buy it – I
can’t avoid it.”
According to Ian Lubek, adjunct
professor of psychology at the University of Guelph in Canada, about 85 per
cent of 1,660 Cambodian beer promoters he has surveyed between 2004 and 2012
regularly drink at work.
“Our research shows that beer
promoters are consuming on average 1.5 litres of beer per night – that’s six
glasses of beer, 27 nights per month,” Lubek says.
Research Lubek conducted in 2002
showed that the average beer promoter made US$55 per month, but had monthly
living expenses of about $110.
Women were drinking with
customers and offering sexual services as a way of making up the difference –
ensuring they could provide for their children or send money to their
provincial families.
According to Lubek’s most recent
study, conducted this year, the promoters’ average monthly wage has climbed to
$75, but expenses have grown even faster, to about $180 per month.
“[Now] they’re averaging a BAC or
blood-alcohol content of .05. They’re basically drunk every night,” Lubek says.
“Overuse of alcohol at such a
high rate leads to liver disease. Also, women aren’t told not to drink when
they’re pregnant.”
Major companies involved in
Cambodia’s beer industry including Carlsberg (an owner of Angkor Beer) and
Heineken (an owner of Anchor, ABC and Tiger) established Beer Selling Industry
Cambodia (BSIC) in 2006.
Included in a code of conduct it
released were commitments to increase education for beer promoters, scrap
demeaning uniforms, provide contracts and crack down on sexual harassment.
To address drinking, the COC
specifies that beer promoters “should not” drink with customers.
According to the BSIC Monitoring
Report 2011, authored by Indochina Research, there is a marked difference
between the conditions of beer promoters employed by BSIC companies and those
working for non-BSIC companies.
The report, based on monthly
interviews of beer promoters last year, says 61 per cent from BSIC companies
never drank with customers, while 38 per cent sometimes did.
Only 31 per cent of beer
promoters from companies not part of BSIC never drank with customers, while 56
per cent sometimes did, the report claims.
Vo Thi Mai Trang, public
relations and communications manager for Carlsberg Indochina, says the number
of beer promoters drinking in Cambodian workplaces has decreased dramatically
since BSIC was formed.
“And this is thanks to [the] BSIC
Code of Conduct (COC) as well as the intensive training that we provided to our
[beer promoters],” she says, adding that Carlsberg’s beer promoters are the
highest paid after two pay increases last year.
John-Paul Schuirink, a spokesman
for Heineken International, says promoters who sell his company’s beer are also
well paid.
“The current average base salary
. . . is $92 per month for a 30-hour working week. A 10 per cent increase was
implemented this year. [It] compares favourably to the average income in
Cambodia,” he says.
Schuirink says his company
recognises the risks associated with beer promotion, which is why it founded
BSIC and banned workers from drinking.
“Research shows that the beer
promoters working for Attwood [a distributor for the company in Cambodia] have
the highest rate of awareness and compliance with this rule,” he says.
Heineken’s priority was preventing
alcohol use during working hours by giving training and information about its
consequences, Schuirink adds.
“Besides that there is medical
assistance available in case of problems,” he said.
Lubek, however, believes the COC
has been largely ineffective.
“Statistics don’t show any
improvement in the amount of beer drunk in the workplace . . . our research
shows that company health education, if any, may come six to 12 months after
they begin working . . That’s too late to prevent HIV/AIDS and alcohol dependence.”
One company not affiliated with
BSIC, the Phnom Penh Beer Company, says its workers are “not encouraged” to
drink.
“We don’t want them to drink
because we want them to maintain their dignity . . . It also looks bad for the
company if they drink,” a spokesman says.
When asked if the company
provides health services for workers battling alcohol addiction, he says, “No,
we don’t have any problems like that.”
Kingdom Breweries, also not
affiliated with BSIC, says it no longer has beer promoters, but would not
elaborate.
Dave Welsh, country director of
the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, says beer companies
need to do much more to ensure their promoters’ rights are protected.
“There’s a real health issue with
unregulated drinking,” Welsh says. “It’s an unhealthy environment to work in,
frankly.”
Offering beer promoters a wage
that covered their monthly expenses is something beer companies should
consider, he says.
“The amount of profits that are
flowing back, not just to Angkor or Anchor, but to world-famous breweries like
Carlsberg gives them a lot of leverage.”
Carlsberg is, however, taking
positive steps toward establishing a memorandum of understanding that could
improve conditions for its workers, Welsh adds.
Phol Sophea, deputy director of
the Cambodian Food and Service Workers’ Federation (CFSWF), in Siem Reap
province, believes some progress is being made to improve conditions for beer
promoters, but problems such as drinking remain.
“Many workers have problems with
physical health,” Sophea says.
“I ask them to visit the health
centre, a service the companies provide free of charge. “But there is no
support from the companies if a beer promoter becomes dependent on alcohol.”
CFSWF advises its members to tell
customers that drinking on the job will make them sick.
“But some clients just don’t
listen,” Sophea says. “So if the women don’t sit and drink beer with clients,
they won’t sell their products and they won’t have any tips.
“The clients are kings to them,
because they have money.”
Shane Worrell and Mom Kunthear
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
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