Parties Remain Apart on Garment Workers Pay Rise
Cambodian workers buy food from vendors in front of a factory in Phnom Penh on February 12, 2019. AFP / TANG CHHIN Sothy
- By Meng Seavmey
- September 5, 2023 8:50 AM
PHNOM PENH – Employers have proposed $201 as the 2024 minimum wage for workers in the textile, garment, footwear and travel goods sectors while unionists are seeking $215.
The government has not revealed its proposed figure yet, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training said. The current minimum is $200.
Representatives of the ministry, employers and the union met on Sept. 4 to discuss the rise. Labour Minister Heng Sour also took part in the meeting, the third on the issue.
Som Sreymom, a representative from the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) took part but said later there had been no agreement.
“The unionist representatives and the employer representatives only proposed the specific figure to the National Minimum Wage Council this morning,” she said.
“It seems that the employers don’t want to increase the wage at all because it will be a loss on their side,” she said, adding that the gap between the proposed figures is big.
In August, Ath Thon, president of the Cambodian Labor Confederation (CLC), said the primary figure the unionists considered was from $220 to $300 so that it would be enough to ease the livelihood of the workers.
Four more meetings are due to be held. The ministry will hold the next meeting on Sept. 11 to speed up the talks so that they can be finished before Pchum Ben Day in October. Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Sept. 1 that he wanted a decision before then.
