News
Severance pay remains a struggle for Southeast Asian workers
Garment workers at Thailand’s Brilliant Alliance factory were granted leave, only to learn their employer had shut down when they returned to their worksite in early March 2021. “Everyone was abandoned and never went back to work, there was nothing from the company about compensation,” said ...
JACK BROOK
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.
Wages set to increase for civil servants
The government will increase the minimum wage for civil servants, teachers, doctors, and armed forces in a move to improve their living conditions next year. Speaking in a cabinet meeting at the Peace Palace on Friday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that wages for both government ...
Khy Sovuthy
Myanmar, Cambodia lead Asean’s soaring minimum wage growth
Countries across Asean are experiencing rapid economic growth, and the associated improvements to the standard of living are conspicuous. Increasing trade means increasing wages — and wage growth is integral to the growth of regional economies. Keep reading ...
Cambodia’s inequality reduction rank down: Oxfam
Oxfam has indicated that Cambodia ranked 121 out of 157 countries in this year’s inequality index, a drop when compared to last year’s position of 111 out of 152 countries. The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2018 said Cambodia’s current ranking is attributed to poor ...
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
Lao Factory Owners Say Proposed Wage Hike Will Shutter Businesses
Owners of garment factories and other businesses in Laos are rejecting a proposal to raise the minimum wage by as much as one-third, saying the increase in expenses would force them to shut down operations, despite reports of workers seeking opportunities elsewhere due to low ...
Radio Free Asia
350 garment workers go on strike
Over 350 garment workers from the Join-Profit garment factory Industrial Zone (3) of Hlaing Tharyar, launched a strike on May 17, asking for labour rights as factory officials had committed violations, say strike workers. “We were not allowed to take any leave although it has been prescribed ...
Labour ministry reviewing agencies deposit fee order
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population is now reviewing its deposit fee order for overseas employment agencies, according to an official in charge of migration at the ministry. The ministry’s Migration Department Director General U Thein Win told The Myanmar Times on Friday that ...