Souce:Xinhua
Publish By Thomas Whittle
Updated 27/02/2013
PHNOM PENH, Feb. 26 — Garment and footwear manufacturers in
Cambodia unanimously agreed on Tuesday to add 11 U.S. dollars to a
worker’s monthly wage for 2013, but the offer was rejected by trade
unions, saying “it is too low to accept.”
The manufacturers, represented by Van Sou Ieng, President of Garment
Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC), announced on Tuesday in a
meeting with representatives of trade unions in Cambodia that the
employers agreed to increase a worker’s minimum salary to 72 U.S.
dollars a month, up from the current 61 U.S. dollars.
However, Rong Chhun, president of Cambodian Confederation of Unions,
who represented workers in the negotiations, said that the increase was
too low to accept as prices of food and fuel are rocketing up, and they
severely affects workers’ living conditions.
“We still stick to our original demand of the minimum wage of 120
U.S. dollars for a worker a month,” he told Xinhua over telephone after
the meeting.
Both sides, under the coordination by Minister of Social Affairs Ith
Samheng and Labor Minister Vong Sauth, agreed to continue their
negotiations on Wednesday in order to seek a point that will be
acceptable by the two sides, he said.
Chea Mony, President of Free Trade Union of Workers, which is the
kingdom’s largest trade union, warned Tuesday that his union will lead a
mass protest if their demand of the minimum wage of 120 U.S. dollars is
not met.
Garment industry is Cambodia’s largest foreign exchange earner. The
sector comprises more than 300 factories, employing some 335, 400
workers–91 percent of them are female.
The country exported garment and textile products in equivalent to
4.6 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 8 percent year-on-year, according
to a report of the commerce ministry.
The United States and European countries are the major importers, and other clients are Canada, Japan, South Korea and China.
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