Sales Promoters

Our goal is to provide our sales promoters with decent, dignified and safe employment. We are working with local organisations, and cooperate with our competitors to improve conditions in areas where there are potential issues related to health and safety of our sales promoters

Sales Promoters

Companies of the Carlsberg Group are using Sales Promoters to promote and sell our products directly to our consumers in various bars and other locations around the world. These people are ambassadors of our products and we committed to ensure that the conditions under which they operate are safe

Sales promoters in Cambodia

Working in bars, women sales promoters in Cambodia are occasionally exposed to harassment from customers, coerced into drinking, and in some cases, subjected to sexual abuse. Carlsberg employs sales promoters in Cambodia and has been tackling the issues relating to sales promoters since 2006.

Industry cooperation

In 2006 Carlsberg, along with industry and NGO partners such as Care International Cambodia, founded the Beer Selling Industry Cambodia (BSIC). This organisation sets out to improve the health, safety and working conditions of sales promoters through the application of a Code of Conduct and a range of awareness campaigns.

Since 2006 the BSIC has introduced a number of industry-wide initiatives to address issues relating to sales promoters such as:

An improved wage structure, including a minimum wage that is not as reliant on commission
Training programmes for sales promoters to learn techniques for negotiating with customers
The establishment of clear supervision structures and grievance procedures
Annual monitoring of compliance and impact by an independent party

Progress and goals

A survey was conducted in spring 2009 by the Center for Advanced Study Cambodia to assess member compliance to the BSIC Code of Conduct and to evaluate the benefits to sales promoters. This followed an initial independent audit of the Code of Conduct that took place in 2008. Progress observed included:

A stronger awareness of the issues and heightened respect for sales promoters
A higher incidence of reporting of harassment cases by sales promoters
An increase in superiors encouraging sales sellers to use company transport after work

However, the survey also revealed the need for further improvements in certain areas, finding that:

The proportion of sales promoters sitting and drinking with customers had not fallen
A standardised grievance procedure was still not in place
Despite a high take-up of company transport, some company drivers’ behaviour was not acceptable

Moving forward

We will continue to work with NGOs, government and industry partners that make up the BSIC to tackle the issues identified. We have made good progress together but recognise that we still have a long way to go. By taking direct actions around BSIC Code of Conduct lapses, and supporting further training and awareness campaigns, our goal is to provide sales promoters in Cambodia with decent, dignified and safe employment.

For further information please visit the BSIC website: