Real Wages in Garment Sector Fell Over 10 Years

Wages for Cambodian garment workers decreased by more than 20 percent in real terms between 2001 and 2011 despite the industry’s exponential increase in exports, which in 2012 were valued at more than $4 billion, according to a recent report by a U.S.-based workers advocacy group. Studying purchasing power among garment workers in 15 countries, the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) said that wages in Cambodia over the 10-year period to 2011 had experienced a “significant” drop when adjusted for inflation. ... “[A] comparison of prevailing straight-time wage rates in 2001 and 2011 reveals that, when adjusted for inflation, pay rates declined significantly over the decade,” according to the report, which calculated the average wage rate—including bonuses but not accounting for overtime—to be $51 per month in 2001, while in 2011 it was $70 per month. According to the report, 2011’s average wage had actually dropped by 22 percent in real terms due to rising inflation. After taking into account the rise in consumer prices, the average wage in 2011 would have been the equivalent of earning $39.78 per month in 2001, the report states. Despite WRC’s findings, the minimum wage in Cambodia has increased since 2011 to $80 per month and workers on average earn more than $100 after overtime. Van Sou Ieng, chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, disputed the numbers provided by WRC, saying that $70 per month was at the low-end of what a worker was making in 2011. ...

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/wages-in-garment-sector-fell-22-over-10-years-34788/