E-Malt.com News article: 2363

Cambodia: A non-governmental organisation has accused Tiger Beer manufacturer Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) of exploiting Cambodian women to sell its products there, according to The Straits Times. Cambodia 'beer girls' become prostitutes as they paid a pittance, says an NGO Ian Lubek. APB-owned Cambodia Breweries distributes Tiger, Anchor, ABC Stout and Heineken beer there. Heineken, a Dutch beer-maker, owns 34 % of APB. A similar charge has been levelled against several other breweries, including American company Anheuser-Busch, which makes Budweiser, and Danish beer-maker Carlsberg.

The NGO, Siem Reap Citizens for Health, Education and Social Issues (SiRCHESI), says the women are paid a pittance and have to turn to prostitution to make ends meet. Besides, it says, some do so to lure customers so they can fulfil their sales target and earn incentives. It also claims that, according to a study conducted in Siem Reap from 2000 to last year, 20 per cent of the beer promotion girls had contracted Aids as a result of the 'beer-and-flesh' trade.

APB's spokesman, senior manager Sarah Koh, said the company was working with the Cambodian branch of Care, a global humanitarian group, to tackle the problem. She said: 'Since July last year, we have been running a joint programme for beer promotion girls in Cambodia named 'Selling Beer Safely'.' It teaches promoters of APB brands and Heineken to be assertive and decline inappropriate propositions from customers. They are also made aware of the dangers of Aids and how the HIV virus is transmitted.

Heading SiRCHESI and the study on 'beer girls' is Professor Ian Lubek, 58, of the University of Guelph in Canada. He has set up a website on the subject at www. fairtradebeer.com. He said research figures show that new Aids infections had gone down in the past four years among direct sex workers but not among beer girls. He said: 'It is not unusual to see four women surrounding one man to get him to buy their brand of beer. 'In order to meet their daily quota, the beer girls would have to resort to touching and flirting with the men. And this frequently leads to sex.' His solution: Double their monthly salary of US$55 (S$94) so that they do not have to moonlight.

But APB pointed out that Cambodia Breweries pays its 500-odd beer promoters a salary that is above the national average income. Miss Koh added: 'Even if they are paid higher salaries, it does not prevent them from taking part in illicit activities to earn additional income.' Prof Lubek said: 'If 20 per cent of a workforce is dying to support shareholders of a company which is making so much money, then something very unethical is going on.'

But APB felt the problem had not been created by beer companies, and its solution did not lie with them either. Miss Koh said: 'This is a socio-economic problem of Cambodia... Education and awareness among the promotion girls, their customers and outlet owners is critical in dealing with this issue.'


19 March, 2004