Labor
Labor policy and administration
Unions come to consensus on wage proposal
A disparate group of independent and pro-government trade unions on Tuesday agreed to make $168 their proposal for the garment sector’s new monthly minimum wage in ongoing negotiations with employers, bridging weeks of differences. ...
Khuon Narim and Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/unions-come-to-consensus-on-wage-proposal-95949/
Migrant workers demand passports, money
About 50 migrant workers who were part of a group that was abandoned at the Thai border by a recruitment agency last week gathered outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday to ask for the return of their passports and the fees they paid ...
Buth Kimsay
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/migrant-workers-demand-passports-money-95967/
Recruiter’s assets seized by police
Police have seized property from a rented house in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district belonging to a recruitment firm that allegedly cheated money from some 100 Cambodians hoping to find work in Thailand. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/recruiters-assets-seized-police
Minimum wage should fall not rise: GMAC
With the fight over the minimum wage hike for the garment and footwear industry coming to a head, factory owners are already digging in their heels, saying any increase in the $128 a month wage could seriously damage an industry that is facing rising competition ...
Chea Takihiro
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/16269/minimum-wage-should-fall-not-rise--gmac/
Dream deferred in S’pore
As another Cambodian maid who travelled to Singapore under a pilot scheme between the two countries prepares to return home this week alleging labour rights abuses, recruitment agencies in Phnom Penh continue to look for more women to sign up for the overseas work. The ...
Phak Seangly and Alice Cuddy
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/dream-deferred-spore
Date set to announce new wage
The tripartite working group tasked with setting the minimum wage in Cambodia’s garment industry is slated to officially convene today, with the results of the negotiations to be announced on October 5 if all goes to plan. ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/date-set-announce-new-wage
The shackles of abuse
The plight of Cambodian migrant maids who suffer abuse by employers in Malaysia is well documented. Less so is the mental damage caused by the overseas trauma, which has led to some returned migrants being chained up by their desperate familiesYoung women who survive abuse ...
May Titthara and Alice Cuddy
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/shackles-abuse
Cambodia begins minimum wage talks after Myanmar Government approves salary for garment workers
Cambodia’s 700,000 garment and footwear workers currently earn a minimum wage of $128 a month. Last year, the lowest legal salary for Cambodian workers in the $5.7 billion industry was only $100 per month. ...
UN calls on Cambodia to address land and labor disputes
Cambodia’s rapid economic growth over the past decade has also intensified problems such as forced evictions and land grabs. The UN’s envoy to the country has called on the government to urgently tackle the issues. ...
Srinivas Mazumdaru
http://www.dw.com/en/un-calls-on-cambodia-to-address-land-and-labor-disputes/a-18741822
Unions threaten protest over minimum wage
Unions in the clothing and footwear sector yesterday wrote to the committee overseeing minimum wage negotiations threating protests if their demands were not met. ...
Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/16142/unions-threaten-protest-over-minimum-wage/
Unions’ house divided
A secret ballot yesterday failed to resolve garment union splits over what to demand at upcoming minimum wage talks, with at least one independent union rejecting the majority vote of $158 and vowing to put forward $178.The division came a day after Labour Ministry spokesman ...
Mom Kunthear and Shaun Turton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/unions-house-divided
Gov’t tells Unions to pick a minimum wage or lose their say
The Labor Ministry on Tuesday warned unions that if they failed to reach a consensus on a new minimum wage for the garment sector ahead of Friday’s Labor Advisory Committee meeting on the issue, the committee would not consider any proposal from the unions at ...
Mech Dara and Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/govt-tells-unions-to-pick-a-minimum-wage-or-lose-their-say-95155/
Duped workers detain suspected con man in Phnom Penh
A group of 90 disgruntled workers protested Tuesday outside the office of a recruitment company that they say abandoned most of them at a border checkpoint on Saturday morning and cheated them out of the hundreds of dollars they had paid to work in Thailand. ...
Buth Kimsay
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/duped-workers-detain-suspected-con-man-in-phnom-penh-95157/
Manufacturers say they can’t raise wage to $207 per month
With wage negotiations slated for later this month, the head of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia has warned that the country could lose hundreds of thousands of jobs if workers win their demand for a minimum wage of $207 per month. ...
Hul Reaksmey
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/manufacturers-say-they-cant-raise-wage-to-207-per-month/2973869.html
Garment workers demand Cambodian government resolve employment issue
More than 500 striking garment workers from a factory in central Cambodia petitioned the parliament and Labor Ministry on Monday, demanding that government officials intervene in stopping their company from firing workers without cause. ...
Serey Mony and Samean Yun
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/garment-workers-demand-cambodian-government-resolve-employment-issue-09212015143026.html
Survey says garment workers earn $191 monthly
A new survey of what the country’s 700,000 garment workers earn and spend in a typical month has concluded that the median take-home pay of a garment factory employee is $191, higher than the minimum wage, but lower than what employers have claimed. ...
Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/survey-says-garment-workers-earn-191-monthly-94853/
Abuse fears holding up workers pact for Qatar
A major factor holding up an agreement to send Cambodian workers to Qatar is the Cambodian government’s refusal to send domestic workers to the country amid a “high risk” of sexual abuse, a Labour Ministry official said yesterday. ...
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/abuse-fears-holding-workers-pact-qatar
‘Living wage’ talks draw major brands
Envoys of major clothing brands and retailers visited Phnom Penh this week to discuss how to achieve a “living wage” for Cambodia’s garment workers, while the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) contends the “uncompetitive” industry is slowing down as buyers pull out. ...
Shaun Turton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/living-wage-talks-draw-major-brands
Most garment workers not expecting new $207 monthly wage
Most garment workers are expecting a new monthly minimum wage between $160 and $180, according to the results of a recent survey, far lower than the $207 some unions say they plan to seek in fast-approaching negotiations with the factories. ...
Mech Dara and Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/most-garment-workers-not-expecting-new-207-monthly-wage-94698/
Consensus on wage eludes Unions on first try
Union leaders representing some of the country’s 700,000 garment workers failed Wednesday in their first attempt to agree on how much of a raise they would ask for to the current minimum wage of $128 in coming negotiations. ...
Mech Dara
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/consensus-on-wage-eludes-unions-on-first-try-94487/
Manufacturers say a high number of factories suspending workers
The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia says at least 15 factories have suspended workers, due to a lack of job orders, even as union leaders say they will demand a higher minimum wage. ...
Phorn Bopha
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/manufacturers-say-a-high-number-of-factories-suspending-workers/2963358.html
Migrant workers to return from Thailand
Thailand will free five Cambodian migrants jailed for working illegally, who will be returned alongside some 100 other nationals as part of a joint crackdown on migrant labour. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/migrant-workers-return-thailand
Independent Unions raise minimum wage demand
A group of independent unions say they will push for a new monthly minimum wage of $207 for garment workers when three-way negotiations with the government and factories begin in earnest next week. ...
Mech Dara and Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/independent-unions-raise-minimum-wage-demand-to-207-94090/
Multimedia project gives help to young Cambodians braving the job market
The project Klahan9—from the Khmer word Klahan, meaning “brave”—is a multimedia initiative that aims to help youths make better decisions about their careers. The show is broadcast live on Sundays between 1pm and 2pm on FM103. ...