The Bottom Line

Clashes between garment workers and the local manufacturing industry came to a head in February when three women were shot while protesting for increased bonuses outside their workplace. It was almost five more months before manufacturers and governing bodies agreed to raise the earning potential of a 350,000-strong workforce who each earn a monthly wage of $61, plus bonuses.

As of September 1, the monthly pay package will be adjusted to include additional bonuses of $10 – an extra $3 for employees who complete 26 eight-hour days a month, plus $7 for transport and accommodation – raising potential earnings to $83 per month.

“Regrettably the increase is too small to make any change to the conditions that workers face,” Bent Gehrt, from Worker Rights Consortium, said. “While the industry is booming in Cambodia, workers’ livelihoods have worsened. The new bonus is less than what is already being provided at several factories, so many workers will not see an increase at all.” …

While the local garment industry grew by 33% in 2011, with exports to the US contributing more than $2 billion to the sector and accounting for more than half of the sector’s yearly takings, so too did the number of garment worker strikes. “Workers need to earn enough to survive, provide and save for the future, but policies that ignore market forces rarely work out well,” Robertson said. “Both labour and factories need to consider the potential adverse effects strife has on the investors’ point of view. Buyers may consider labour strife to increase risk, and most buyers and investors prefer to avoid risk.”