Labor policy and administration

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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. ...

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. ...

Unions in the clothing and footwear sector yesterday wrote to the committee overseeing minimum wage negotiations threating protests if their demands were not met. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

At least 22 female garment workers collapsed at their factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh yesterday, in the latest mass faintings incident. ...

Amidst ongoing negotiations to boost the minimum wage for garment workers in Cambodia, H&M, the world’s second-largest fashion retailer, has rolled out a program aimed at improving pay in the Kingdom’s factories, arguing that higher wages improve industrial relations and productivity. ...

As border controls ease among ASEAN nations, Interior Minister Sar Kheng warned Tuesday the downside could be a freer flow of criminals and illegal immigrants. ...