Labor policy and administration

Big-name clothing brands sourcing from Myanmar have waded into the minimum wage debate, urging its implementation even as their own suppliers dispute the proposed salary and request an exemption from the law. At the end of June 2015, the government moved to implement the 2013 Minimum ...

Recent data from the International Labour Organisation say that despite implementing a $128 minimum wage in January, the Kingdom’s garment and footwear sector has grown by over 10 per cent in the first quarter this year, although experts suggest a wait-and-see approach to determine its ...

Local officials have been promising for several years to send illegal foreign workers back home but so far this hasn’t happened. Director General of Labour Management Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Phongsaysack Inthalath spoke to Vientiane Times at a meeting in Vientiane ...

Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy yesterday told unionists that his party supports a minimum wage increase in the Kingdom’s garment industry to $180 per month in 2016. Speaking to more than 100 Free Trade Union (FTU) representatives from about 60 factories at FTU’s headquarters ...

International labor groups and multinational companies have urged the government and recalcitrant garment manufacturers in Myanmar to accept a daily minimum wage of 3,600 kyats (US$3.20), a proposal put forward by the National Minimum Wage Committee last month. The US-based Fair Labor Association, a coalition of labor ...

Vietnam’s labor union is proposing a 17 percent increase in the minimum wage for employees, much higher than the bump rate suggested by businesses earlier. Vietnam General Confederation of Labor made the proposal to the National Wage Council, which comprises 15 members representing the national labor ...

The International Labour Organization (ILO) on Thursday will launch a news bulletin focusing on Cambodia’s garment and shoe sector, aimed at providing data for Cambodian policymakers during annual minimum wage talks.    ILO officials intend on releasing the newsletter four times per year, an ILO chief technical ...

An ILO project that provides free lunch at garment factories is proving to be a hit with workers, but whether or not this 50-cent per worker “experiment” catches on will depend on factory owners and the brands they supply. Last July, eight garment factories in Phnom ...

Vietnam looks to raise its minimum monthly salary by just above 10 percent next year, the lowest level since 2013, a move that apparently bows to the growing pressure of the corporate sector.   Under a government decree that took effect early this year, Vietnam raised the ...

Cambodian, Burmese and Laotian undocumented workers descended on Thailand’s one-stop service centres for visas and work permits before the closing deadline, as Thai authorities yesterday signalled a crackdown on illegal labour. More than 100,000 Cambodian workers in Thailand could face arrest and deportation after the deadline for ...