Three factory workers, one of them pregnant, received minor injuries after a section of ceiling at the M&V garment factory in Kampong Chnnang province collapsed yesterday.

Five sheets of gypsum board fell on the three as they worked in the quality control and packaging sections of the Kampong Chnnang town factory – a supplier for H&M products.

“They were packing clothes when some pieces of gypsum fell on them. They were injured on their shoulder and head, but there was no bleeding,” said Kampong Chnnang Free Trade Union leader Nuon Samol.

Samol said the boards were loose following a few days of rain and hadn’t yet been repaired even though the factory managers had been alerted to the issue.

The pregnant worker, Sim Serey Ros, said once the sheets came crashing down, there was no time for the three to get out of the way. Her co-worker, Van Srey Toch, fainted after being hit by the sheets.

Other incidents at M&V include mass faintings of 300 and 198 people in two separate incidents in 2011, and 4,000 workers going on strike in 2012 for higher wages. Factory administrator Oun Chhantak could not be reached.

William Conklin, country director for labour advocacy NGO Solidarity Center, said even though factory shells were normally provided by the landlords, it was up to management and brands to ensure worker safety.