More than 7,000 garment workers were injured and 130 killed during traffic accidents that occurred while they were being transported to and from factories in the first 11 months of the year in Cambodia, according to a report from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

It registered almost 6,491 traffic accidents involving vehicles taking workers to and from garment factories from January 1 to November 30, 2015 and said 7,357 workers were injured in these accidents. The report also pointed out that 130 workers were killed and 1,068 were seriously injured in the accidents. On an average more than 10 garment workers were killed and about 90 injured every month while being transported to and from factories, the report said.

Drivers are the main cause of the accidents, the NSSF said, adding, speeding, breaking traffic laws, drunk driving, overtaking other vehicles and driving in the wrong lane are the main causes of the accidents. Traffic accidents, according to Pav Sina, President of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, are a major concern of garment workers. He added that the drivers of trucks must be trained about traffic laws and higher quality vehicles should be used to transport workers to and from factories.

The International Labor Organisation’s Better Factories Cambodia program, which monitors all garment exporting factories for compliance with Cambodian labor law and international labour standards, does not include transport safety in its compliance checklist. However, according to the program manager, Esther Germans, safe transportation is an issue that must be addressed immediately.