Keep striking for $160, Rainsy urges

24 December 2013
The Phnom Penh Post
Garments and textiles / Government / Industries / Labor / Labor policy and administration / Ministries and other national bodies / Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training / Unions
C.CAWDU / Cambodian Alliance Trade Union / Cambodian Confederation of Unions / CATU / CCU / Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union / Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia / GMAC / Has Bunthy / Ith Sam Heng / Kong Athit / Manhattan Special Economic Zone / Rong Chhun / Sam Rainsy / Svay Rieng Provincial Labour Department / Taiseng Special Economic Zone

Ahead of today’s Ministry of Labour announcement of a minimum wage increase for Cambodia’s apparel sector, opposition leader Sam Rainsy yesterday urged striking workers in Svay Rieng province to hold out until their monthly salary is raised to $160.

“[Garment] workers should not return to work until the government raises their minimum wage to $160,” Rainsy said in Bavet town to thousands of workers from Svay Rieng’s Manhattan and Tay Seng special economic zones. “We have to be together, I support all of you until you reach success, and I’ll be with you and protect you all.”

Rainsy’s address to workers including Nuth Sakhorn, who was shot by former Bavet governor Chhouk Bandith in the same precinct last year, came after a lap of the factories that at one point included breaking down a razor-wire barricade.

A Labour Ministry working group comprising ministry officials, labour union representatives and the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) last week presented three schemes for the government to increase minimum monthly wages for garment and shoe factories – which now stands at $80, including a $5 health bonus – by 2018. ...

 Mom Kunthear, Sean Teehan and James Hall
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/keep-striking-160-rainsy-urges