♪ ♪ a garment factory on the outskirts of phnom penh, the

cambodian capital. some have gone under altogether. all this was triggered by large-scale demonstrations in january. the protests were held by workers seeking higher wages and opposition party members opposing the ruling party. some turned into riots resulting in 40 injuries and deaths. >> unsafe for them to place their order so they reduce the order. and we see significant reduction in orders. >> the plunge in orders reduced the need for workers, leading to the end of large-scale strikes and putting labor unions in a quagmire.

>> all this just as the economy was expanding. but what did the people gain, and what did they lose. after two years of coverage, this episode seeks to answer these questions. since 1998, cambodia has enjoyed strong economic growth. the garment industry has been a driving force behind the economic boom with clothing manufactured here comprising 80% of exports. two years ago, we reported on the rapid increase in foreign factories and the cambodians who work at them.

loaded trucks take workers to their factories. at the time, cambodia was experiencing further change with the monetary economy reaching rural parts. demands for higher wages began to emerge and labor strikes started occurring. >> most strikes were small, though, and usually ended in talks with the factory owners. the southwest of pnom penh, a

place where citizens and authorities clashed violently on january 3rd, 2014. striking workers seeking better wages joined forces with demonstrators opposing the government. authorities cracked down. four people died and almost 40 were injured. veng sreng boulevard is currently being widened in order to give access to large trucks. >> the strikes intensified to a

point where people were wounded or even lost their lives. news of the unrest soon became international news. orders from overseas firms plummeted with local wages increasing, higher product prices and the image of cambodia tarnished, many major apparel companies withdrew from the country altogether. around 350 factories belonging to the garment manufacturers association suffered declines in orders. almost half of them lost 40% of their order volume. some factories were forced to suspend operations or shut down completely.

>> why of course, all the factories, from the 5th of january is back to normal operation. but because of the reduced order, because of the reduced order now half the factory don't have enough order. the other half that have enough order, some don't have -- they have just enough. when the unions demand high wage, i don't know whether they know of the consequence. maybe they don't, but we tell them, but they don't believe. we don't prevent the worker from earning more. we want the worker to earn more, but the wages must be linked to

productivity meaning whether it's some sort of output related wages. >> according to lew, workers in cambodia are no longer going on large-scale strikes but he says they are still holding smaller ones. it was a large-scale strike that changed the face of cambodian labor conflicts in 2013. it was held at sl garment processing limited, a factory which manufactures clothes mainly for european and american fir firms. the order volume has now plunged to half its peak. the 6,000 factory workers have been slashed to 3,000. workers began striking in august of 2013.

opposing a slight adjustment in their shift system proposed to them by their bosses. the strike lasted four months and grew into a huge demonstration involving members of the general public. right after the demonstration, we interviewed factory ceo wong hong ming. >> one particular union initiated the sl factory strikes and also took part in the january 2014 demonstration. the coalition of cambodian apparel workers, democratic union, was launched in 2000. by boldly expressing factory

demands to factory management, over ten years it became the largest labor union in cambodia.

>> at the time of the demonstration, opposition party members had been boycotting parliament. accusing the ruling party of rigging elections. the demonstrations began attracting laborers and expanded to involve tens of thousands of people. we interviewed a female

parliamentaryian who took part in the demonstration. mu sochua has long been working for the rights and safety of female workers and is a member of the cambodia national rescue party.

>> the opposition party and labor unions say they did everything for the sake of the workers. but what situation are the workers in now?

pav panna was a leader of the workers during the demonstration at the sl factory. she still works there now. >> panna's monthly salary has dropped significantly because factories suffering declines in orders can no longer give workers long-term contracts and can only offer short-term contracts. panna has also been left with the debt she accumulated during the strikes. >> panna was invited to join the

union soon after she migrated to the city. she initially participated out of curiosity after hearing her pay would increase. she was soon promoted to leader, due to her caring personality and educational background. unlike most other workers, she graduated from junior high school. panna lives five minutes from the factory with her husband ho polin. her husband, who works at the same factually, also earns less now. the couple came to phnom penh three years ago with dreams of earning enough money to send their daughter to college. they asked their parents to care for their child in fields back home. before the strikes, they sent money back home every month. but now they can only send money once every few months.

as for their child's schooling, they can't even afford very basic necessities. >> while filming, we received reports of a sit november by workers at a factory in suburban phnom penh. we were notified by the union

that had actively led strikes in the past. a month earlier, a fire broke out and gutted the factory. all the management staff have left. and nobody plans to return. ex-workers have gathered in front and are repeating demands that will probably never be heard. the protest began without consulting any labor unions.

>> ex-workers say they come here every day because doing nothing at home makes them feel helpless. chbl

>> many workers would like to find work at other factories if they could. but new jobs are few and far between. most have no choice but to tap into what savings they have or borrow money to get by. cambodia has yet to develop a welfare system to protect workers who face such a desperate plight. meanwhile, while others have suffered, one factory has managed to expand sales during the past two years. no one here has ever gone on

stri strike. all factory tasks are managed by leaders selected by workers. salaries are determined by the productivity of the team, meaning that wages can increase, even if the country's minimum wage isn't raised. cambodian owner khov chhay manages the factory from the perspective of his cambodian workers.

>> some of the workers here used to participate in or serve as leaders in strikes held at other factories.

>> owner chhay believes many firms that come to cambodia in search of cheap labor forget one crucial thing -- worker motivation. a year ago, labor strikes were frequent events with labor unions and the opposition party pushing the workers to speak out. amidst the unrest, one man was trying to calm everyone down. chiamoni is the president of the workers of the kingdom of cambodia.

>> chea mony is now hosting study sessions with other instructors about labor laws in cambodia. others are welcome to participate free of charge. >> due to the instructor's scheduling problems and a lack of funding, the study sessions can only be offered once a month. they sometimes attract so many

people that the office can't accommodate everyone. lai rothana and born panny began coming here after quitting their union. without fully understanding the circumstances at their previous union, the two were made to serve as leaders. like many factory workers, they were only educated as far as elementary school.

>> after the lecture, rothana and panny always review their notes together. they discuss issues they don't understand and if anything still isn't clear, they make time to ask chea mony. they study with each other three or four days a week.

>> the women say they will teach their co-workers tomorrow what they learned today. cambodia is developing at a rapid pace amidst an accelerating globalized economy. the heated strikes have cooled off. workers have mixed feelings about their actions, but most are now trying to walk their own paths on their own two legs.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> previously on "everyday edisons," we learned all about solar energy, textile manufacturing, and an inventor who brought us those two technologies together in a unique photovoltaic fiber. in this episode, we meet al contarino, who brought us his innovative grill all the way from his hometown of boxford, massachusetts.