Be glad you’re not paid in rice, Prime Minister tells teachers

12 March 2014
The Cambodia Daily
Civil society / Education and training / Education policy and administration / Government / Labor / Labor policy and administration / Social development / Unions
Cambodia National Rescue Party / Cambodian Independent Teachers Association / Cambodian People's Party / CITA / CNRP / CPP / Hun Sen / National Institute of Education in Phnom Penh / World Bank

Prime Minister Hun Sen advised the country’s newest crop of teachers not to feel down about their poor salaries, recalling that were they embarking on their careers in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime their pay would be a few bags of rice each month. The prime minister’s recollection of the situation in the country 35 years ago follows a recent teachers’ strike for higher wages, and calls by the opposition CNRP for better pay for all civil servants. Mr. Hun Sen shared his memories on Tuesay before personally handing out some of the 1,038 new teacher certificates at a graduation ceremony at the National Institute of Education in Phnom Penh, and reminding his audience that the world was not an equal place. … Before wrapping up, Mr. Hun Sen made a thinly veiled dig at the opposition—which has been calling for a $250 minimum monthly wage for teachers and all other civil servants since last July’s national election—referring to CNRP leader Sam Rainsy as an “example” prime minister. “If you are just an example prime minister, it’s no problem,” he said. “But the real prime minister speaks and has to do.” … The opposition has long accused the government of spending too much on national defense and public security at the expense of education and health. Though the latest national budget boosted education spending by some 20 percent, it still comes in under 2 percent of the country’s $17.2 billion gross domestic product for 2014 as projected by the World Bank. Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA), who organized a brief and spotty strike for a $250 monthly minimum wage in January, said the prime minister should be looking for comparisons elsewhere. “He should not be comparing the teachers’ situation to the situation 30 years ago. We should be comparing it with other countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia,” he said. …

 Khy Sovuthy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/be-glad-youre-not-paid-in-rice-prime-minister-tells-teachers-53965/