Friday, 25 June 2010 15:01 Cameron Wells and Vong Sokheng Phnom Penh Post

THE percentage of garment-sector workers losing their jobs has declined by more than half over the past 18 months, according to a report released Thursday by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The 24th Synthesis Report from Better Factories Cambodia – which tracked 157 garment factories between November 2009 and this past April – also points to an increase in the number of trade unions being formed and a decline in strikes, though some observers said they did not believe these findings were reflective of a happier workforce.

Job losses affected 6 percent of the workforce in the period covered by the report, down from 12.5 percent in October 2008.

“Although employment is still down from one year ago, job losses resulting from the crisis have levelled off,” states a press release accompanying the report.

Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, said the figures were “not surprising” in light of the recovering economy.

“I’m not surprised about this,” he said. “The economy is recovering, and it should be expected. Workers are coming back to Cambodia, and employers have more work.”

He noted, though, that the percentages provided by the report might not be precisely accurate.

“The report only covers about 150 factories,” he said. “It is impossible to cover all 284 factories in Cambodia. This report covers different factories to last year.”

Oum Mean, director general of the Labour Ministry’s Department of Labour, declined to comment on the report and referred questions to the ILO.

The report also found that 79 percent of factories had at least one union, marking a 3 percent increase over the previous six-month period. It also states that 9 percent of the factories had experienced a strike, down 5 percent from the previous six-month period.

But Moeun Tola, head of the labour programme at the Cambodian Legal Education Centre, said an increase in the number of unions does not necessarily translate into an increase in protection for workers.

“Most workers organise unions, and they also suffer terminations” from their roles, he said. “Often they can’t function in their jobs properly, and they are also given shorter contracts.”

Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, said the decline in strikes did not mean garment factory employees were happy with their working conditions.

“The number of strikes being down doesn’t mean working conditions are improving,” he said. “They are down because when factories shut down, local authorities crack down and send the workers to the courts before they strike.”

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Monday, 28 June 2010 15:03 Meas Sokchea and Irwin Loy Phnom Penh Post

Government recommends a $5 per month increase for garment workers

HE government has recommended a US$5 boost to the monthly minimum wage for garment-sector workers – an amount that falls far short of demands from some union leaders.

Officials with the Labour Advisory Committee are planning to meet with union representatives and factory owners on July 8 to discuss issues including the contentious minimum wage, according to a press release issued Friday by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Labour.

“The meeting will discuss an agenda including the minimum salary increase for workers in garment and shoe factories,” the statement said. “The government allows an increase in the minimum salary of $5, and another $6 as a living supplement to the basic salary.”

The current minimum wage for full-time garment workers is $50. Workers already receive a mandatory $6 cost-of-living allowance on top of that.

The press release stated that probationary workers currently earning a minimum salary of $45 a month would receive a similar boost in salary.

Unions and garment factory owners in 2006 agreed to discuss changes to the minimum wage by the end of this year, but there has been no consensus on a suitable increase.

Major unions have proposed wages of $70 and $93; employers have not publicly disclosed how much they are willing to pay.

Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTU), which demanded an increase to $70 a month, said the government’s recommendation doesn’t meet workers’ needs.

“The Ministry of Labour has done this again and again. Workers have a minimum wage of $50 and a $6 bonus already. So [the recommendation] is different than what we demanded,” he said.

Chea Mony threatened earlier this month to stage a three-day strike in mid-July if the union’s demands were not met. On Sunday, he said that plan was still in place.

“If [employers] do not have a “If [employers] do not have a resolution for workers ... workers will hold a strike,” he said.

Other union leaders contacted Sunday had differing reactions to the government’s minimum wage recommendation.

Ath Thun, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Unions (CCAWDU), said a $5 increase would not conform to today’s economic realities.

“Five dollars is not enough,” said Ath Thun, who questioned why the government had issued its recommendation before unions and factory owners had even sat down to discuss the issue face to face.

Labour Ministry officials could not be reached Sunday.

But Chuon Momthol, president of the pro-Cambodian People’s Party Cambodian Union Federation (CUF), said he was satisfied with the government’s recommendation.

Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, said his organisation had not been officially informed about the government’s decision.

“We will support the recommendation of the government even though it may not be ideal for the industry at this point to have such a revision,” Loo said.

Moeun Tola, head of the labour programme at the Community Legal Education Centre, noted that many unions had been asking for a more significant boost to the minimum wage, and that his own organisation had, in response to research commissioned last year, recommended that the minimum wage be raised to $71.99 a month.

As part of a study produced in September, researchers interviewed 300 garment workers, and concluded that they would need at least $71.99 a month to pay for basic needs such as food and shelter as well as remittances.

“They spend a lot of money on food, on medicine, on clothing, on rent and so on. Based on this, the minimum wage should be $71.99 a month,” Moeun Tola said. “If it is less than this, workers cannot survive.”

He warned that garment workers will shift to better-paying, but more dangerous professions in the entertainment industry if they see little improvement in their salaries.

New term for FTU head
Also Sunday, Chea Mony was granted a new three-year term as president of the FTU, despite having announced in May that he would step down because of health and personal reasons. He vowed Sunday to continue demanding higher salaries for his union’s members.

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