Factories mostly skip minimum wage meeting
Government officials and union representatives met behind closed doors Thursday to start hashing out a better way to set the minimum wage for the country’s all-important but troubled garment sector at a workshop brokered by the International Labor Organization (ILO). But what was supposed to be a start of frank, three-party discussions between the government, unions and factory owners was more of a bilateral affair with scant participation from manufacturers. Amid the many government officials and union members in the room was only one representative from the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), which represents the bulk of the 500-plus exporting garment factories in the country. An advisor to the Ministry of Labor said their light presence threatened to scupper the reform efforts. “Employers did not come to attend the workshop because they are tired of the [union] protests, even though they just raised the minimum wage,” said Chuon Momthol, deputy chairman of the Labor Advisory Committee (LAC), the tripartite body tasked with setting the minimum wage. “We are disappointed with the absence of the employers and I think the discussion today cannot be used because this is a tripartite consultation,” said Mr. Momthol, who also advises the Labor Ministry and heads a pro-government union. …
Aun Pheap and Zsombor Peter
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/factories-mostly-skip-minimum-wage-meeting-57337/
