Labor
Microcredit, a ‘double-edged sword’ strategy for migration
In Cambodia, as credit becomes increasingly available, more people are taking loans from microfinance institutions to help with migration.As of June 2015, microfinance institutions lent more than $2 billion, compared to $1.6 billion dollars in 2014, according to the Cambodia Microfinance Association. ...
Ten Soksreinith
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/microcredit-a-double-edged-sword-strategy-for-migration/2979173.html
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/
TEAC officially launched in Cambodian to boost Chinese producers
To boost Chinese investment in Cambodian garment industry, the Textile Enterprise Association of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce also know as TEAC has been officially launched in Phnom Penh.Enjoy Ho, chairman of TEAC said that they will represent the interests of Chinese textile enterprises in ...
YNFX News Staff
http://www.yarnsandfibers.com/about-us
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
Officials set for murder probe
The prime minister has selected 14 senior officials – all members of the ruling party – to probe the cold-case murders of three union leaders, including Free Trade Union (FTU) president Chea Vichea, though scepticism remains about the timing and motivation behind the new investigation.According ...
Meas Sokchea
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/officials-set-murder-probe
23 trafficked loggers repatriated from Thailand
Thai police on Monday repatriated 23 Cambodian men who were tricked into traveling to Thailand to log rosewood, according to an official. ...
Saing Soenthrith
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/23-trafficked-loggers-repatriated-from-thailand-95008/
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/
Many migrant workers don’t understand the dangers
Experts say migrant laborers lack basic information about threats to them abroad, making them vulnerable to exploitation. However, Chou Bun Eng, secretary of state for the Ministry Interior and vice chairman of the National Committee To Combat Human Trafficking, says the government does disseminate information ...
Socheata Hean
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/many-migrant-workers-dont-understand-the-dangers/2963306.html
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. ...
Mass fainting hits target supplier
At least 22 female garment workers collapsed at their factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh yesterday, in the latest mass faintings incident. ...
Chea Takihiro
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/15598/mass-fainting-hits-target-supplier/
Alleged bride brokers busted
Anti-human trafficking police yesterday arrested six suspected traffickers who were in the process of arranging for three Cambodian women to be flown to China to marry local men, a court official said yesterday. ...
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/alleged-bride-brokers-busted
H&M eyes ‘fair wage’ push
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. ...
Mom Kunthear and Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hm-eyes-fair-wage-push
ILO says latest draft law on Trade Union an improvement
The regional director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) said Tuesday that the latest proposed changes to Cambodia’s draft Trade Union Law—which has been blasted by employers and unions alike—marked an improvement over the last version, which the ILO had called a “step backward.” ...
Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ilo-says-latest-draft-law-on-trade-union-an-improvement-93690/