Cambodian garment workers threaten to strike over pay

Textile workers in Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh - Cambodia's largest garment workers union would call a strike if its demands for a pay rise to keep pace with inflation were not met, its president said Wednesday.
Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union, said it was demanding a 10-per-cent wage hike and a new minimum wage of 55 dollars a month, up from 50 dollars a month.
In an open letter to the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia president, Van Sou Ieng, Mony cited inflation, particularly for basic goods because of rising world oil prices, for the request.
'We will proceed in three steps,' Mony said in a telephone interview. 'First, we negotiate. Second, we demonstrate in the factories, and thirdly, we walk out as a group.
Van Sou Ieng was overseas Wednesday, and officials at his association said they would not consider the proposal until his return. The previous garment worker pay rise was in October 2006.
Cambodia has around 300,000 garment workers, and the trade is a major export earner and a pillar of the economy.
However, some analysts have claimed that factors including high wages compared to rival producers such as China and Bangladesh, high transport costs, erratic power supplies and corruption threaten the sector, which is mainly run from rented premises by Taiwan, Chinese and other overseas owners.