Garments and textiles

The Labour Ministry considers the wage dispute at the Han Jen garment factory done and dusted, but workers yesterday told The Myanmar Times their woes are far from solved. “[The labour director] said the Han Jen worker’s dispute is finished and was resolved okay. Actually, we haven’t ...

Following an at-times turbulent process, Cambodia on 8 October set the 2016 minimum wage for garment workers at $140 per month, a $12 increase from the current rate of $128 but well below union demands for $160. Labour Minister Ith Samheng announced that the government’s wage-setting group, ...

The Cambodian government set the new monthly minimum wage for the country’s billion-dollar garment sector at $140 on 8 October—up from $128—more than what factory owners wanted but far less than the raise demanded by some unions. Keep reading ...

Cambodian exports saw a nearly 20 per cent increase for the first half of the year, as garment shipments to the European Union led the way in making up for a decrease in exports to the United States, according to a new Ministry of Commerce ...

Several Vietnamese garment and textile companies would face more challenges from large rivals following integration, said Tran Quang Nghi, chairman of the National Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex). Nghi, speaking at a conference entitled “Garment and Textile – Opportunities and Challenges”, focusing on integration and held ...

Garment worker unions on 30 September decried a preliminary, government-suggested increase to the minimum wage as being far too close to what they perceive as a lowball offer from employers. As tripartite wage talks continue, unions said officials from the government’s Labour Advisory Committee had on 29 ...

Following weeks of quarrelling, Cambodia’s garment unions on 29 September agreed to demand a monthly industry minimum wage of $168 – only to find themselves miles apart from employers who are refusing to consider an increase beyond the rate of inflation. Leading up to ongoing tripartite minimum-wage ...

Factory workers have had enough of the arbitration council, the nascent, quasi-judicial body established to resolve labour disputes through mediation. Nearly 200 garment workers fired in the wake of the new minimum wage have decided to by-pass the conciliation system altogether, alleging that the members are ...

The widespread use of short-term contracts in Cambodia’s garment industry has come under fire in a new report, which looks at ongoing issues with the practice at H&M supplier factories amid pledges of reform. A Short-Term Solution, which was released by Swedish NGO Fair Action, uses ...

Lao ministries and various related sectors have been unable to resolve the chronic shortage of labour for garment factories amid growing concern within the local industry. An official from the Association of the Lao Garment Industry, who asked not to be named, told Vientiane Times on ...