Hun Sen Seeks Garment Factory Vote
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday asked some 4,000 garment factory workers for their votes in July’s national elections at a rally in Phnom Penh attended by members of several CPP-aligned unions, according to those in attendance. … Cambodian Union Federation president Choun Mom Thol said yesterday that he was among the 66 pro-CPP unions whose members attended the rally on Koh Pich, where Mr. Hun Sen took credit for a recent pay rise for garment workers. According to Mr. Mom Thol, the prime minister “said he made the higher minimum wage so that both parties [employers and employees] are happy. He said the government could not make it higher or it will bankrupt the garment factories and workers would lose their jobs.” Several unions last month reluctantly accepted an increase in monthly garment factory wages from $61 to $73 and an additional $7 health and living benefit, well below the $120 they were hoping for. …
