Unequal treatment at Cambodian factories
February 25th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Garment Industry, Industry, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
The ongoing story of garment workers left jobless by company closures in late December is fast becoming A Tale of Two Factories: one group of workers has everything before it, the other has nothing.
It’s this widening gulf between workers at Yung Wah Industrial and Kingsland Garment – accentuated by the government’s willingness to pay out wages and benefits in full at one factory and not the other – that has prompted calls for an insurance scheme to be established to protect garment workers hit by sudden closures. …
An insurance scheme, Welsh said, would preclude factories in favourable areas or with government connections from being given priority and make the system of paying out workers much clearer.
“It’s good the workers [at Yung Wah] are being paid, but the problem is how does the government distinguish between Yung Wah and Kingsland?” David Welsh said. …
Shane Worrell and Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022561588/National/unequal-treatment-at-factories.html
Manufacturing to diversify
February 25th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Foreign Investment, Industry, International Relations, Labor, Production
While Cambodia seeks to diversify its manufacturing sector and encourage higher-value-added activities, experts say it must be supported by the right mix of government policies.
The Asia Development Bank (ADB) says that the sharp increase of foreign direct investment (FDI) from $900 million in 2011 to between $1.3 and $1.5 billion in 2012 has coincided with a rise in investment in to higher-valued-added manufacturing from swimsuits and dress shirts to automotive parts and electronics. …
Hang Chuon Naron, secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said the government was looking to attract high-tech investment through the up-skilling of the work force. …
Daniel de Carteret
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022561577/Business/manufacturing-to-diversify.html
Unpaid Garment Workers Continue Protests
February 23rd, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Garment Industry, Industry, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
Some 200 garment factory workers protested at the Ministry of Social Affairs on Friday, a day after they held a demonstration in front of the Swedish Embassy in Phnom Penh and urged diplomats to intervene in a labour dispute involving unpaid wages from a factory that supplies clothes to Swedish clothing brand H&M. …
The workers involved in the pay dispute, which started in January, say that their former employer, Kingsland Garment Cambodia Co. Ltd, suspended operations in September claiming that there were no orders, but promised that work would resume in January. Workers were told they would receive 50 percent of their base wage during the temporary suspension, then discovered in December that the factory had closed completely without paying their mandatory redundancy. …
Khuon Narim and Sun Mesa, P. 11
www.cambodiadaily.com
Unions set double wage as minimum target
February 21st, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Garment Industry, Industry, Labor, News Source
Trade unions agreed yesterday to lobby the government to double the minimum wage in the garment sector, representatives said, following two days of meetings.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, said union delegates had agreed on the $120 per month figure ahead of a government meeting scheduled for Tuesday. …
Mom Kunthear and Shane Worrell
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022161534/National/unions-set-double-wage-as-minimum-target.html
Hun Sen Orders Workers Compensated
February 20th, 2013, Radio Free Asia, Business & Commercial Development, Garment Industry, Industry, International Relations, Labor
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has promised to compensate thousands of garment workers demanding back pay they say they are owed since their factory owner fled the country to escape mounting debt, according to officials. …
Kandal provincial labor department director Thol Neang told RFA’s Khmer Service Tuesday that Hun Sen had ordered the Ministry of Labor to pay the workers and that local officials had begun registering their names in order to compensate them.
“Samdech [Hun Sen] ordered the government to use the national budget to pay the workers according to their demands,” Thol Neang said, using the prime minister’s honorific title.
Yung Wah Complex Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union representative Oum Visal said the government would have to spend about U.S. $8 million to compensate the 7,000 workers. …
Radio Free Asia Staff
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/workers-02192013184511.html
Factory pay protest continues
February 18th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Garment Industry, Industry, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns, Textiles
Workers at the shuttered Yung Wah I and II factories in Kandal province will continue protesting today, despite the government already agreeing to pay them using company funds. Worker Soy Sokchea said yesterday that he and his colleagues would keep demanding benefits and seniority bonuses. …
Um Visal, labour dispute resolution officer at the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union, said yesterday that the workers had demanded the government pay them using company money that had been lodged as a type of bond. …
Meanwhile, more than 500 workers at Hi Fashion garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district will also protest to demand wages tomorrow. …
Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021861414/National/factory-pay-protest-continues.html
Multiple Skills Needed To Compete in a Future Asean, Economist Says
February 15th, 2013, VOA, Labor, News Source
Young Cambodians must develop diverse workplace skills if they are to compete in an integrated Asean, a leading economist and adviser to the government says.
“We have to make sure we are able to do multiple things if others are able to do just one,” the adviser, Sok Siphana, told “Hello VOA” Monday. “If they know only one language, we need to know two.” …
However, some callers to “Hello VOA” said that the lack of competitive spirit among students is not their fault, as they see around them the effects of nepotism and corruption. …
Say Mony
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/multiple-skills-needed-for-asean-competition/1603984.html
$2m missing: telecom staff
February 14th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Banking & Finance, Business & Commercial Development, Industry, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns, Stock Exchange, Telecommunications
More than 200 employees of Telecom Cambodia demonstrated yesterday morning, demanding the company’s general director step down and that the Anti-Corruption Unit investigate the company. …
The strikers claimed general director Lao Saroeun had been involved in large-scale embezzlement, other forms of corruption and disrespect of workers throughout his five-year tenure and such misdoings had delayed the company’s listing on the Cambodia Securities Exchange.
“According to the report of 2011 incomes, Lao Sareoun and his accountant and financial director took $2 million of Telecommunication Cambodia’s income,” the workers claim in a public statement.
The statement goes on to allege that in order to cover up the $2 million shortfall, Sareoun, his accountant and his financial director counterfeited a report to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. …
Telecommunication Cambodia is one of two state-owned enterprises the government plans to list on the securities exchange this year.
Kim Yuthana and May Kunmakara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021461353/National/2m-missing-telecom-staff.html
Injunction Issued Against Garment Factory
February 14th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Garment Industry, Industry, Labor, News Source
The Kandal Provincial Court issued an injunction yesterday against Yung Wah Industrial Co. Ltd., preventing the company from selling assets at its two garment factories in Takhmao City where thousands of workers have been protesting the past two days over unpaid wages. …
Chin Chan, p. 19
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/
More workers join Svay Rieng strike
February 14th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Garment Industry, Industry, Labor, Production, Social Concerns
Workers from at least six more factories in Bavet town’s Manhattan and Tay Seng Special Economic Zones joined about 5,000 workers who had been on strike since yesterday for a minimum wage increase and better working conditions. …
Va Sarorn, director of the Svay Rieng provincial labour department, said yesterday that work had been suspended for all workers from all factories in the Special Economic Zones – areas with high concentrations of factories – until a resolution had been found.
Meanwhile, about 7,000 workers at the Yung Wah Industrial garment factory complex, which apparently has closed, continued to block road 21B in Kandal province’s Takhmao town for a second day to demand their two-month-overdue salaries. …
Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021461351/National/more-workers-join-svay-rieng-strike.html
Thousands Protest, Claiming Unpaid Salaries
February 13th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Garment Industry, Industry, Labor, News Source
Thousands of employees of two Singaporean-owned Yung Wah Industrial (Cambodia) Co.Ltd. factories, which produce shirts for Gap Inc. among other international brands, went on strike yesterday in Kandal province, claiming that they were not paid their salaries for last month.
“Normally, salaries are paid between the 5th to the 10th of each month, but so far nobody has received their salaries,” said Chan Dany, deputy leader of the Coalition of Cambodia Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union (CCAWDU) at the Yung Wah II factory. …
Chin Chan, P.18
www.cambodiadaily.com
Thousands of Workers Protest For Increase of Minimum Wage
February 13th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Garment Industry, Industry, Labor, News Source
More than 5,000 workers from across seven factories in Svay Rieng province protested yesterday, demanding a doubling of the current minimum wage, a provincial labor official said yesterday. …
The country’s minimum wage sits at $61, and is supplemented by a $5 health benefit and a $7 allowance for housing and transportation. …
Sun Mesa, P.19
www.cambodiadaily.com
Minimum wage may rise for Cambodian garment workers
February 12th, 2013, Fibre2fashion, Business & Commercial Development, Exports, Garment Industry, Industry, Labor, Textiles
The Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour has scheduled a meeting on February 26 with representatives of various unions to discuss the new minimum wage for garment workers in the country.
However, the Ministry expects the various workers’ unions to agree on what the new wage should be before they attend the meeting. …
The Ministry of Labour is working on reaching a consensus to raise the minimum wage of clothing workers following a call given by Prime Minister Hun Sen to raise the salaries of garment workers in order to prevent them from moving to neighbouring countries to draw better wages. …
In 2012, Cambodia exported clothing and textiles worth US$ 4.61 billion, registering a rise of nine percent year-on-year.
Fibre2fashion Staff
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=120969
Scrutiny over hotel service fees in Cambodia
February 12th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Industry, Labor, Social Concerns, Tourism
Major hotels are under the microscope after a labour rights group found that some have been failing to pass their entire service charge on to their staff, a violation of the Labour Law.
Dave Welsh, country manager of the American Center for International Labor Solidarity(ACILS), said yesterday that preliminary studies of large hotels conducted by his organisation showed many were not passing on all of their service charges.
“The bottom line is that these hotels cater to tourists. And if they are charging service charges, the implication is that all of it goes to workers,” he said, adding that Article 1.34 of the Labour Law said that mandatory service fees must be paid to the person in contact with the customer. …
Sok Narith, secretary-general of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers Federation, said the payment of service charge revenue to employees varied greatly depending on the hotel. …
Shane Worrell and Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021261316/National/scrutiny-over-hotel-service-fees-in-cambodia.html
Graduates fear career jobs woe
February 12th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Labor
A year from now, 23-year-old Sum Tiara will graduate from the Royal University of Law and Economics with a degree in law.
At the moment, however, she needs to earn a living and pay for her studies by working in bars and restaurants in Phnom Penh. Not much time is left for homework and studying for exams, and even less for internships. …
Nhim Bunarith, general manager of the Apsara Garment Company, says his company has difficulty recruiting staff for mid-level management positions.
He says his business has a pressing need for human-resources managers, technical managers and production-line managers, but few Cambodians are qualified for such jobs. …
Although Cambodia has 20 public universities and nearly 30 private ones, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports told University World News last September that only about 150,000 students – 10 per cent of the age cohort – were enrolled in higher education.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) consultant Maeve Galvin says factories are having difficulty finding production workers because “the growth of the industry has been so rapid (35 per cent in 2011 and an additional 15 per cent in 2012).” …
Sarah Thust and Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013021261305/Business/graduates-fear-career-jobs-woe.html
News Analysis: Cambodia Viewed As “Best” Investment Venue For Thais
February 10th, 2013, Xinhuanet News, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Energy, Foreign Investment, International Relations, Labor, Natural Gas, News Source, Oil, Trade
Cambodia is considered “the most promising country” in the ASEAN community where Thai business entrepreneurs could set up trade and investment projects, according to a noted Thai academic and economist.
Roongrote Benjamasuthin, director of the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce’s ASEAN Business & Economic Center, has said that Thais transnational conglomerates and small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs now look on Cambodia as “the most promising” site for their projects and could help usher in the birth of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015. …
“We should take advantage of the geographical proximity between Thailand and Cambodia while the Thai government has planned to build and expand roads and railways to link the two neighboring countries.Part of these infrastructure would be serviceable when the AEC finally takes off in the next few years,” Roongrote said. …
Xinhuanet
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2013-02/09/c_132162078.htm
Union files assault court complaint
February 8th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Garment Industry, Industry, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
The Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union (C.CAWDU) filed legal complaints yesterday, following allegations on Wednesday that police had assaulted seven garment workers, including a pregnant woman. …
Sa’ang district police chief Chea Socheat yesterday again denied officers had been violent during a strike outside the Garment factory in Sa’ang district, but Khieng said witnesses were willing to testify otherwise.
Pregnant worker Chan Bophal claimed she had been slapped and manhandled.
About 200 workers continued protesting yesterday — ignoring an Arbitration Council order for them to return to work — demanding that 41 union representatives be reinstated. …
Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020861260/National/union-files-assault-court-complaint.html
Another Taiwan Bike Maker to Move to Cambodia
February 7th, 2013, Bike Europe, Business & Commercial Development, Exports, Industry, International Relations, Labor, Trade
It’s no finalized yet as contracts still have to be signed, but it looks as if another bike maker from Taiwan is setting up shop in Cambodia. It will the 4th one which is to benefit from the duty and quota free status Cambodia made bicycles have in export to Europe. …
Three Taiwanese-owned bicycle manufacturers are operating in Cambodia. They are Atlantic Cycle and its subsidiary A&J, Smart Tech (Cambodia) and Worldtec Cycles (Cambodia). While Atlantic Cycle Co and its subsidiary A&J have been manufacturing in the Kingdom for seven years, Smart Tech moved to Cambodia from Vietnam two years ago. …
Next to the import duty free status for bike export to the EU (which saves 14% import tax on complete bikes), bicycle manufacturing in Cambodia is benefiting from low labour costs. …
Jack Oortwijn
http://www.bike-eu.com/Sales-Trends/Business-trends/2013/2/Another-Taiwan-Bike-Maker-to-Move-to-Cambodia-1168375W/
Investors from Korea relocate to Cambodia
February 7th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Foreign Investment, Garment Industry, International Relations, Labor
Korean investors are relocating labour-intensive businesses to countries such as Cambodia after Indonesia raised its minimum wage.
A number of Korean investors had closed their Indonesian factories and relocated to other countries in the region because their requests for minimum-wage exemption had been refused, The Jakarta Post reported.
Indonesia has raised provincial minimum wages about 40 per cent to RP 2.2 million ($226) a month. …
From last month, every Thai worker is entitled to a 300 baht ($10) daily minimum wage.
Monthly wages in Vietnam rose to 2.4 million dong ($113) in January, and Beijing has pledged to increase minimum wages to at least 40 per cent of average salaries.
The minimum wage for a Cambodian in a garment factory is $61 a month. Trade unions have called for the minimum monthly wage to be increased to between $120 and $150. …
Anne Renzenbrink
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020761220/Business/investors-from-korea-relocate-to-cambodia.html
Court sets date for new hearing in Bandith case
February 7th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Garment Industry, Industry, Labor, Social Concerns
The Appeal Court has set a hearing date in a case against former Bavet town Governor Chhouk Bandith, who stands accused of shooting three protesting garment workers last year.
In December, the Svay Rieng Provincial Court dropped charges against the official, only to see the case taken up by the Appeal Court prosecutor general, who called for a reinvestigation. The February 27 hearing will determine whether Bandith should, in fact, be charged for the February 2012 shooting. …
Three women were injured when a gunman opened fire during the protest of more than 6,000 workers employed at four factories at the Manhattan Special Economic Zone. …
Buot Chenda, 21, who was shot in the lung while calling for better working conditions, said yesterday she was relieved to hear a date had been set. …
May Titthara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020761233/National/court-sets-date-for-new-hearing-in-bandith-case.html