News
OPINION: A year since the transient worker Covid crisis: Lessons for Southeast Asia
April marked the one-year anniversary since most countries in the world went into some form of lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19. The pandemic first and foremost has exposed gaps in current labour practices towards low-skilled transient (migrant) workers across Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore, ...
FANZURA BANU AND SHEE SIEW YING
Cambodian Unions and NGOs Call for Workers’ Safety to Combat COVID-19
Cambodian NGOs and trade unions called on Phnom Penh Wednesday to improve health and safety for workers in the country to combat its recent coronavirus outbreak, while the governments of neighboring Vietnam and Laos took precautions Wednesday to keep the virus from spreading within its ...
RFA’s Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese Services. Translated by Samean Yun, Max Avary and Chau Vu. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Cambodia and Thailand agree on migrant worker MoU
Ministry representatives from Cambodia and Thailand have held a meeting to solve migration issues between the neighbouring countries amid the pandemic. The meeting was held via a conference call on November 5 between Labour Minister Ith Samheng and Deputy Minister of Labour, Surachai Chaitrakulthong, who was ...
Sen David
Cambodia Hikes Minimum Wage by US $2 as Workers Grapple With Inflation in Coronavirus Economy
Cambodia’s Ministry of Labor on Thursday announced a new minimum wage of U.S. $192 per month for 2021, an increase of only U.S. $2 from this year, drawing criticism from workers struggling with inflation amid an economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. “Beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, garment ...
RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
A crisis for workers
Venue closure, curfew and state policies enforced to contain the spread of Covid-19 are affecting the labour force severely. Workers experience the impact in different magnitudes, with some getting less pay and seeing their working hours reduced. Others manage to work from home. Some lose ...
MELALIN MAHAVONGTRAKUL
Asean countries struggling with inadequate labour skills
About half the population of the Asean region live in rural areas and suffer from a shortage of quality jobs and underemployment. In addition, rural people lack training opportunities in line with the needs of the labour market and suffer from the traditional exclusion of ...
Survey ASEAN youth bullish about impacts of technology on employment
The youth of the ASEAN are highly optimistic about the impacts of technology on their job prospects and incomes, according to a survey from the World Economic Forum. Keep reading ...
The Truth About the New Laos Minimum Wage Hike
After months of deliberation, Laos’ Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith announced this week that the country’s minimum wage will increase from 900,000 kip ($108) to 1.1 million kip per month. This rise is set to take effect from early next month. []Unlike neighboring Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam, ...
David Hutt
Wages first, productivity later?
The January 2 decision by the National Committee for Designating Minimum Wage to increase the minimum wage has left many dissatisfied, particularly within the garment sector. []In Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam, the garment sectors are about six times more productive than in Myanmar, while Cambodia and ...
ANDREW THOMSON
Which Asian Country has the Highest and Lowest Unemployment Rates
Mongolia, Pakistan, Indonesia and Philippines have the highest employment rates in Asia. By contrast, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos post the lowest unemployment rates. Mongolia has the highest employment rate in Asia with 7.3 per cent. The country has seen a poor labour market with a ...
DataLEADS