Labor
Asian Development Bank announces $45M loan for secondary education
The Asian Development Bank has approved a $45 million loan for Cambodia to overhaul its upper secondary education in order to address the increased demand for skilled workers. Several measures will be undertaken to reform the sector: math, science and information technology curricula will be reviewed ...
Safety at coal mines comes under scrutiny
Up to 15 serious labour safety violations at coal mines in northern Quang Ninh Province were reported in the first nine months of this year, leaving 18 people dead and injuring dozens more, Lao Dong newspaper reported. In August alone, there were five incidents, leaving six ...
Tourism sector ‘needs 200K new workers’
A Ministry of Tourism official announced on October 11 that the country would need an additional 200,000 trained tourism professionals if it was to fulfil its target of receiving 7 million international tourists a year by 2020. Try Chhiv, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Tourism, said ...
US still urging Cambodia to broaden and clarify union law
The U.S. is continuing to urge the government to change and clarify key parts of a controversial trade union law that took effect in April, including an amendment to cover civil servants, the U.S.’s international labor affairs representative said on October 5. Sarah Fox, who was ...
Cabinet mulls ways to boost investment in special economic zones
The government cabinet has been exploring ways to better facilitate and promote investment in Special Economic Zones, after many zones have been set up in the provinces and in Vientiane. The cabinet on September 26 convened an extraordinary meeting and discussed a draft of the Law on ...
Singapore population rises 1.3% to 5.61 million
Even as more Singaporeans had babies last year, Singapore’s population growth remained low, rising 1.3 per cent to reach 5.61 million in June. The statistics, released on September 27 by the National Population and Talent Division in its annual Population in Brief report, also showed that ...
Labor ministry orders probe into Honda Vietnam’s alleged massive layoff
The company has been accused of firing thousands of workers every year to cut costs. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has asked that authorities in the northern province of Vinh Phuc look into reports of massive layoffs that allegedly happen regularly at ...
Top H&M suppliers called out over alleged labour rights violations
Four premium suppliers for Swedish clothing giant H&M have been called out by a local labour rights group for their continued use of short-term contracts, hampering employees’ ability to unionise and, in one case, allegedly paying workers less than the $140 monthly minimum wage. In a ...
Việt Nam, South Korea want to boost cooperation
Việt Nam and South Korea began the 15th session of the Joint Economic Committee on September 22, with talks focusing on ways to boost cooperation and address pending issues. Deputy minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Thế Phương said the two countries had made significant achievements ...
Promises unmet as Thailand tries to reform shrimp industry
Facing international pressure for failing to stop human trafficking in its seafood sector, Thailand promised almost a year ago to compensate victims of slavery and industry leaders vowed to bring all shrimp processing in-house. That hasn’t always happened. Instead, some formerly enslaved shrimp peelers have been ...