LONGHENG: Cambodia's garment sector will grow about 10 per cent in 2010: official

Cambodia’s Garment Workers Get Salary Increase



Cambodia’s ministry of labor and vocational training on July 8 announced that after the broad talks with representatives of employers and workers at the ministry, the committee of advisory labor decided to increase salary for all textile, garment and shoe workers on basic salary of with 5 dollars wage rising, and 6 US dollars for living conditions’ allowances across the country, starting to implement from October 1, 2010 and it will come into force until 2014 that is the next session for reviewing agreement. .



“We have agreed to increase salary for the workers to 56 US dollars per month for fresh workers in probation term, and they get only 45 US dollars as minimum salary. At the same time, we increased salary for full membership workers to 61 US dollars per month as basic salary for all of them,” H.E. Vong Suth, minister of labor and vocational training said.



“In case, the workers have worked overtime, they will get extra and bonus money in each month from employers,” he explained. The salary that decided this time is basic salary only, and the employees who get the salary through product quantity, known as counting from product, will receive wage through obvious results that they have done. The employers need to add money to the level of 56 US dollars for a month. Currently, we have about 300,000 workers and most of them are women from rural areas. “Benefits from workers could help the living conditions of their families,” he noted.



Van Sou Ieng, president of Garment Manufacturer’s Association of Cambodia (GMAC) told reporters that our workers need to work hard for productivity chain to get more money and now this industry is so very competitive in current situation of global market.

He continued: We have 230 garment manufacturers as memberships in our association and they are following the rule of international standards. The workers need to strengthen the quality of products and work faster than before to implement purchasing order for buyers. The representatives from workers demanded salary increase too high, we as employers could not afford. “When they could not afford, they will leave Cambodia to invest at other countries,” he said. Their demand is injustice for employers,” he added. He highlighted that now; we reached to agree on the decision from government, majority from representatives of employees and employers on basic salary of 61$ per month for workers.



Meas Sophea, senior official of trade unit for commerce ministry said that we have to consider about the benefits for workers if the employers and investors left here to other countries, our workers will lay off job and they faced with living condition’s difficulties. “We also will lose benefits for workers and the benefits of country. “Some serious reaction from union leaders for increasing salary, it has made employers to go where else that they could earn from the business,” he noted. He stressed that in the sixth month of this year, garment product was exported to foreign market increase to 11 per cent; especially we exported to US markets, and EU. He hinted that purchasing order from buyers for the whole year totally will be increased about 10 per cent if comparing in 2009. The space for growing garment product for our country is only 10 per cent is very narrow; the buyers let us know. “Mostly garment product this year will go the United States , he said, adding that we still decreased if comparing with previous years. In 2009, Cambodia got 2,658 million US dollar and in 2008 for 3,158 million US dollar from garment sector.

The garment sector is in fragile situation after it is in competitiveness from other countries in global market.” he noted. “I want employers to increase more than today because food and price of house also is higher,” Yong Cheng, a garment worker at Stung Mean. Salary is very difficult for living daily,” she said. Union leaders asked for 93 US dollars per month for basic salary of garment workers. on Tuesday, thousands of workers conducted strike to demand high salary to support daily living.

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