News & Events Details

For the process of demanding the Minimum Wage 2024 for garment workers, we have observed that the garment workers’ wage is not suitable for the high inflation and goods prices of the marketplace.

In 2023, inflation increase to 2.5% while, normally, the price of food increases by 10%. So, when inflation goes high and workers get lower wages, it makes them get more difficulties in terms of daily expenses.

The negotiation of the Minimum Wage for garment workers must be conducted annually by the agreement between the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and Trade Unions in 2014, and also the Law on Minimum Wage in 2018.

Following this reason, the 51 members of the National Minimum Wage Council have continued to negotiate the MW annually. In 2023, they have negotiated enthusiastically but they have not found a middle path; the employer representatives increase US$1.50 while the employee parties demand US$213 and the government can offer only US$2.

So, the workers were dissatisfied with the negotiated parties; they decided to demand the MW publicly at factories, homes, and dining rooms. They express their demand by taking photos and posting them on social media channels as a message to the government and employers to offer an appropriate minimum wage for them.

Mr. Ath Thorn, CLC president and a member of the National Minimum Wage Council, continued to urge the employer representatives to offer at least US$213 for the Minimum Wage 2024 and he strongly supports the requests of the garment workers to make sure that it is relevant to the inflation rising.

To reduce the workers’ burdensome, Thorn also asks the government and employers to increase US$213 as demanded, reduce the goods price on Marketplace, offer a budget for lunchtime, award US$15 for those coming to work regularly, and US$15 for transportation in a month.

Besides this, Thorn also asks for other requests; to decrease the price of gasoline, renting room, and utility cost, addressing the conflict, right to form the union, strengthening the inspection, and including the MW determination in other sectors such as construction, agriculture, and service.

Additionally, he asks the NSSF to advance member registration and strengthen NSSF’s schemes, and registration employees and citizens who are over 60 years old to get care services and pensions, and offer the Equity card to the informal workers. He also asks the employers’ representatives to reinstate those who dismissed and ended the working contract from the company.

Please also be informed that tomorrow is the last day of demanding Minimum Wage 2024 for Garment Workers.