A Change of Guard

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Wednesday 15 October 2014

Cambodian labor minister questioned by lawmakers over wage talks



PHNOM PENH, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian labor minister Ith Samheng appeared before lawmakers on Tuesday to answer questions about ongoing minimum monthly wage negotiations for garment workers.
The minister's explanation to lawmakers came at the invitation of opposition lawmaker Ke Sovannaroth, chairwoman of the parliament's labor commission.
Speaking to reporters after a two-hour question-and-answer session at the parliament, Ith Samheng said there lies a large gap between the employers and the trade unions over the setting of minimum monthly wage for garment and footwear workers for 2015.
"I'd like to inform the public and all garment workers that up to now, the stance of both sides, the employers and the trade unions, is still far from each other because the employers say the minimum wage they could afford to pay is 110 U.S. dollars, while the trade unions are demanding 150 U.S. dollars," he said.
The current minimum wage stands at 100 U.S. dollars.

The minister said a final talk over the minimum wage will be held in November among the employers, the trade unions, and the ministry of labor.
"We hope that both sides will soften their respective stance for collective benefits and national interests," he said.
The garment and footwear sector, the kingdom's largest foreign currency earner, comprises 960 factories with approximately 620, 000 workers, according to the ministry of labor.
The sector exported products in equivalent to 3.99 billion U.S. dollars in the first eight months of the year, up 11 percent over the same period last year.
Prime Minister Hun Sen warned last week that a steep and sudden rise to the minimum wage could drive investors out of the country.
"I'd like to remind our people that setting minimum wage can also pose risks to Cambodia. For instance, increasing minimum wages in China and Thailand adversely affects manufacturers and reduce their competitiveness due to high production cost and as a result, investors consider relocating their factories to other countries," he said during an international conference.

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