Under the European Union’s pressure over its human rights and political record, Cambodia raised next year’s legal minimum wage for workers in its crucial textiles and footwear industry to $190 per month, an increase of 4.4 percent.
Under the European Union’s pressure over its human rights and political record, Cambodia raised next year’s legal minimum wage for workers in its crucialtextiles and footwear industry to $190 per month, an increase of 4.4 percent.
“The minimum wage for textile, garment and shoe workers for 2020 is set at $190 per month,” Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng said. The new wage will take effect in January.
The garment industry is Cambodia’s largest employer, generating $7bn for the economy each year. It faces uncertainty after the European Union (EU) in February began a process that could suspend the country’s special trade preferences.
Cambodia benefits from the EU’s “Everything But Arms” (EBA) trade programme, which allows the world’s least-developed countries to export most goods to the EU free of duties.
PavSina, president of the Collective Union Movement of Workers, said unions would accept the new hike, although it fell short of their $195 demand, after a representative vote.
The EU, which accounts for more than one-third of Cambodia’s exports, including garments, footwear and bicycles, in February began an 18-month consideration that could lead to the EBA suspension.
The re-examination of the European preferences began after the arrest of opposition leader KemSokha and the dissolution of his party, leading to longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen’s party’s holding all seats in parliament.
