Labor
Ministry approves nationwide union in Myanmar
The Ministry of Labour has officially approved the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM) as Myanmar’s first national-level labour organisation, despite many other unions applying for similar status. The ministry said it approved the CTUM application because it had fulfilled all requirements specified in the Labour ...
High-profile foreign brands back minimum wage for all
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 ...
Cambodia wage-increase impact up for debate
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 ...
Underage African footballers 'trafficked' to Laos
African footballers as young as 14 are being trafficked to Asia and forced to sign contracts, the BBC has learnt. Six minors are still with top Laos side Champasak United, after it imported 23 under-age players from West Africa to an unregistered football academy in February, ...
Lao officials keen to send illegal foreign workers packing
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 ...
Rainsy tells FTU to push for $180
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 ...
Myanmar minimum wage gathers support from abroad
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 proposes 17 percent wage increase for 2016
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 ...
Cambodian garment factory workers demonstrate for subsidies
At least 500 workers from three garment factories in Cambodia demonstrated on 14 July outside the Labor Ministry in the capital Phnom Penh, demanding that government officials intervene in their quest for better working conditions and food and transportation subsidies. The workers from two factories in Kandal ...
ILO Cambodia launching new garment newsletter
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 ...
