Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training

The Labour Ministry has created guidelines for owners in the garment and footwear industry to prevent factory workers from fainting. Labor Minister Ith Samheng issued an announcement yesterday containing 11 guidelines in an effort to reduce the stimuli causing workers to faint. ...

Garment workers at the Benoh Apparel factory in the capital’s Meanchey district returned to work this week after a two-month suspension to find the building abandoned, prompting a protest demanding compensation from the government. ...

Labour Minister Ith Samheng has warned that any registered unions that remain inactive would be dissolved, while at the same time welcoming new unions as long as they respected the law. ...

A slew of new health and maternity benefits for workers took effect at the stroke of midnight yesterday in a dramatic expansion of the country’s social security framework, even as labour advocates and business experts raised concerns about cost and quality. ...

New Thai regulations imposing stiff punishments on undocumented migrants, their brokers and their employers set to come into force on January 1 will likely be delayed by three to six months, according to Cambodian Minister of Labour Ith Sam Heng. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterated his demand for the owners of garment worker housing to freeze rents in 2018 yesterday, telling the leasers to come to him personally if they disagreed with the order. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed hopes of sending Cambodians to Japan to work in nursing homes yesterday as part of a larger scheme to increase the number of Cambodian migrant workers. ...

A Labour Ministry official has said the law on the minimum wage will come into force in the first quarter of 2018, provided there are no more objections from stakeholders. ...

A memorandum of understanding meant to beef up protections for Cambodian maids in Malaysia is still on hold after Malaysia’s human resources minister said he was not aware of the agreement, according to Malaysian media. ...

The Minister of Labour yesterday warned factory owners around the country that they would face legal action if large groups of workers faint during working hours within their enterprises. ...

More than 100 workers at the JD Toyoma garment factory in Takeo province’s Bati district fainted yesterday morning while working. Police suspected the cause of the fainting was chemical fumes in the factory, but the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia said the fumes did not ...

More than 200 workers at the Nantai garment factory agreed to bring an end to their protest after the Labour Ministry, local authorities and company promised to solve their dispute on Wednesday. ...

Maids, labourers and other so-called “informal workers” are set to receive free health care and maternity benefits next year – as long as they can get their employer to register them with the government. ...

The government is negotiating with other countries to ensure the safety of migrant workers and that they receive worker benefits while toiling abroad, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday. ...

The US multinational Walmart has said it will buy more garment, footwear and luggage products from Cambodia next year due to increased capacity from suppliers and improved labour conditions in the country. ...

A new centre will launch in April 2018 to train Cambodian migrant workers to work with elderly people in Japan. On Tuesday, Minister of Labour Ith Samheng said the Japanese company Procast Asia would establish the centre. ...

Workers from the Pou Yuen Cambodia garment factory in Sen Sok district yesterday protested outside the premises after the management decided to offer them only three-month contract extensions. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday announced he has formed an assessment group – with representation from the ministry’s identification and immigration departments as well as the Ministry of Labour – to study the issues affecting Cambodian migrant workers and provide recommendations to fix them. ...

The future of the government’s Labour Advisory Committee is hanging in the balance as the country’s first draft law on the national minimum wage is set to come into force by the end of the year.   ...

The government yesterday significantly upped the garment and footwear sector’s minimum wage to $170 a month, from $153, the highest increase in wages in the past two years and one that comes ahead of a crucial national election next July. ...

Union negotiators on the minimum wage for garment, textile and footwear workers have lowered their claim from $176.26 per month to $175 while the employers have increased their offer from $161 to $161.50. ...

Employers must allow all Muslim women to wear headscarves and traditional clothing to work, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday. Addressing workers in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district, Mr Hun Sen said he met Muslim women on a recent visit to Kampong Cham, who told him they ...

The Ministry of Labour has weighed into a dispute between more than 600 garment workers and their former employer, confirming that the factory owner has closed operations and disappeared.   ...

The Ministry of Labour’s spokesman yesterday said that free medical treatment for garment workers, announced by Prime Minister Hun Sen last week, will start on January 1. ...