Strike justified, suppression not, experts say
Garment workers’ calls for a $160 minimum wage are justified and should be honored, a new report by an international team of academics and labor experts has found. The authors—including a team from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, South Korean and Philippine union groups, and the Asia Monitor Resource Center in Hong Kong—traveled to Cambodia to speak with workers and union activists following the government’s suppression of garment strikes in January during which five people were killed. “The demand of Cambodian workers to lift the minimum wage to $160 is fair and reasonable, as their real wages have been stagnant despite their tremendous contribution to Cambodia’s economic growth,” states the 52-page report, which will be released officially on Thursday in Hong Kong. “The disproportionate use of force by the government to suppress these legitimate protests demonstrates that the government is more concerned with protecting the interests and profits of the employers of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) than protecting the workers’ rights to a decent living wage, freedom of association and other basic human rights,” it continues. …
Lauren Crothers
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/strike-justified-suppression-not-experts-say-53255/
