Cambodia Warns Off Minnie Driver

Cambodia has condemned plans by the British actor Minnie Driver to highlight sweatshop labour conditions by working in one of the country's textile factories.

The commerce minister, Cham Prasidh, said Driver's action could backfire, according to yesterday's Cambodia Daily newspaper. "Ms Minnie Driver can be harmful to Cambodia," he said.

"People who want to improve the working conditions of women in the garment industry in Cambodia should ... reflect on ways and means to assist them - and they should refrain from pursuing their anti-globalisation goals by trying to harm the poor in the world's poorest countries," Mr Prasidh said.

More than 200,000 people, mostly women aged 18-25, work in some 220 factories across Cambodia producing clothes for well-known western brands. Starting wages average less than £1 a day.

It is not known when Driver, 32, who was Oscar-nominated as best supporting actress in Good Will Hunting, is intending to arrive in Cambodia. Her visit is being organised as part of Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign.

Oxfam said it did not believe that her trip would be harmful to Cambodia. "Oxfam is not anti-globalisation," it added.

The issue of sweatshop labour is sensitive in Cambodia. The textile and clothing industries are the country's main source of foreign exchange, accounting for well over £600m - 36% of the gross domestic product.

The UN International Labour Organisation says that factory conditions in Cambodia, which have been appalling, are starting to improve.

In its latest survey, of 61 factories, it found no evidence of forced or child labour or discrimination. It did say, though, that workers were often not paid their full salaries, and overtime was often compulsory.

Cambodia joined the World Trade Organisation earlier this year, but it is not yet clear what effect this will have on factory workers.

"What Ms Driver will find is what everyone can see already through our reports," the ILO's representative in Cambodia, Lejo Sibbel, told the Cambodia Daily. "Problems exist, but the situation is improving."