Mind the wage gap

Most mornings, garment worker Vicheka buys food from the street vendors outside her factory in Kampong Chhnang province. The beef and pork dishes, she says, have a tendency to give workers a stomach ache – a reputation forged long before Vicheka and her co-workers at the M&V factory fainted on the job this month. It’s not unusual for the food to spend hours in the sun’s searing heat. More often than not, it’s unhygienic and it always tastes bad. … In the past week, Clean Clothes Campaign activists have been staging mock faintings in fashion stores across Europe to draw attention to the conditions Cambodian workers endure while sewing for big brands such as H&M, Gap and Levi’s. … According to the union and labour group Asia Floor Wage Alliance, this [minimum wage] figure should be $281 a month. Even with a $10 increase approved by the government that will kick in this month, the minimum wage for garment workers is $83. With Cambodia’s garment industry burgeoning – exports topped $1 billion during the first quarter of this year – big brands have an obligation to bridge this wage gap, Carin Leffler, co-ordinator for Clean Clothes Campaign Norway, says. …

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012092858979/National-news/mind-the-wage-gap.html