Off the wire
• 2nd LD-Writethru-China Focus: Chinese yuan extends sharp fall, long-term depreciation unlikely  • Urgent: Myanmar's ruling party nominates 1,147 candidates nationwide to run in general election  • Indian stocks open flat  • Australia's wage growth at record low  • Vietnam to hold military parade to mark 70th anni. of National Day  • Vietnamese central bank adjusts VND/USD exchange rate amplitude following Chinese yuan devaluation  • S. Korea's job creation remains lackluster on MERS aftermath  • (Correction)Beijing to close roads, metro stations for night parade rehearsal  • Australian union to take court action against port operator over workplace sackings  • Urgent: Former senior tourism official expelled from CPC, office  
You are here: 　 Home

Cambodian garment manufacturers vote against raise of workers' minimum wage for 2016

Xinhua, August 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

A majority of members of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), which represents the kingdom's 550 garment and footwear factories, have voted against any raise of minimum wage for the sector for 2016, a GMAC's senior official said Wednesday.

GMAC deputy secretary general Kaing Monika said the association conducted a survey with the participation of its 230 members on Sunday, giving them three options to choose from: no raise, a raise of between 1 and 5 U.S. dollars and a raise of between 6 and 10 U.S. dollars. "According to the preliminary result, 63 percent voted for no raise, 26 percent voted for an increase of between 1 and 5 U.S. dollars, and the rest were in favor of a raise of between 6 and 10 U.S. dollars,"he told Xinhua via telephone.

The survey came after the Cambodian government increased a 28 percent minimum wage for the garment sector in January to 128 U.S. dollars per month, and is currently negotiating with the factories and trade unions to further raise the workers'minimum wage for 2016.

GMAC warned that a steep rise in wage will seriously affect the survival of many factories, especially those with poor financial stability and weak purchase order. "Based on the survey's result, the majority of our members want the minimum wage for the garment sector to remain at 128 U.S. dollars per month for 2016. However, the Cambodian government is the final decision maker on this issue,"he said.

The government is expected to release the final decision on minimum wage for 2016 in October.

The garment and footwear sector, the kingdom's largest foreign currency earner, consists of 1,087 factories with approximately 700,000 workers, according to the Labor Ministry.

The sector exported products in equivalent to 6.2 billion U.S. dollars last year, accounting for 80.5 percent of the country's total export. Endi