Cambodia PM says garment firms may quit over wage rows
Cambodia’s strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday warned garment workers that protests demanding higher wages could push manufacturers to quit the country. His appeal came after unions last week said hundreds of workers had been fired from a factory making sportswear for US giant Nike after a series of pay protests. Cambodian workers have repeatedly demonstrated against low wages and tough conditions in the multibillion-dollar textile industry, which produces goods for top western brands. Currently workers can earn around $110 a month with overtime. Hun Sen said repeated protests may imperil the country’s lucrative garment industry by persuading firms to relocate to Myanmar, Laos and India where labour is cheaper. “If the investors move out, it will be a big disaster for our country,” Hun Sen said in a speech broadcast on national radio. … The premier said some $480 million was paid to workers across the country each month. The textile industry, which employs about 650,000 people and produces clothes for top western brands, is a key source of foreign income for the country. …
