via CAAI
Tuesday 14 September 2010
by Tom Mellen
Over 80,000 garment workers who produce branded clothing for Western transnationals such as Nike and Gap have stayed away from the production line, the second day of a week-long strike for fairer pay.
Inspired by the recent success of industrial action in China and Bangladesh, Cambodian unions expect that the huge stoppage which kicked off on Monday will focus ministers' minds on the need for a higher minimum wage in the sector.
Under a deal hammered out between the government and industry chiefs, bosses who employ Cambodia's 345,000 garment workers must pay at least $61 (£39) a month.
But Cambodian Labour Confederation president Ath Thun insisted that this was not enough to cover food, housing and travel expenses.
Unions are demanding that the minimum wage be set at $93 (£60).
Anti-poverty activist Moeun Tola said that many workers were employed by subcontractors for highly profitable Western transnationals such as Gap, Nike and Wal-Mart.
Mr Tola insisted that they should do more to end the sweatshop-style conditions endured by staff at many Cambodian factories.
"Big companies like Nike, Adidas and the Wal-Mart have a code of conduct when putting in orders in Cambodia and can make sure no workers are violated or get poor pay and that they can have contracts that last longer than just a few months," he said.
The rag trade is Cambodia's third-biggest foreign currency earner, employing an estimated 300,000 of Cambodia's 13.4 million people who send much of the cash back to their families in the countryside.
Many rural people manage to survive on less than $1 (64p) a day.
Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) boss Ken Loo lashed out at the strikers, declaring that their action for a fairer wage "will badly affect the reputation of the industry."
Mr Ken dismissed a $93-dollar minimum wage as "impossible" and called on factory owners facing disruption to seek a court injunction declaring the strikes illegal.
In July Bangladesh increased the minimum wage for garment workers from $25 (£16) a month to $43 (£28) following weeks of industrial action and militant street protests.
Unions had called for $73 (£47).
And in China Western transnationals have been quietly ramping up wages this year amid a wave of action by relatively low-paid organised workers.
Honda bosses recently agreed to bump up pay at their Chinese facilities by 24 per cent.
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