Cambodia’s rapid economic growth over the past two decades has been associated with labour movement on an enormous scale. The oft-cited figured of 400 000 garment workers from a population of 15 million gives some indication of the scale of a phenomenon, which nevertheless extends far beyond factory work alone. Cambodia’s urban centres are now characterised by extensive peripheral migrant enclaves, comprising numerous interlinked occupations. However, these are not permanent settlements. Their populations are in constant flux according to a dynamically structured household-based livelihoods system, which has incorporated, rather than being surpassed, by modern sector labour migration. This chapter will elucidate these rural-urban linkages and their implications for those involved.
