Cambodian garment workers threaten massive strike

Cambodian female workers sew at a factory in Sihanouk province

PHNOM PENH — More than 80,000 Cambodian workers are planning a massive week-long strike over wages that threatens production at around a sixth of the country's garment factories, trade unionists said Friday.

The huge stoppage, expected to affect at least 80 plants starting Monday, is the result of workers' reaction to a deal between government and industry that set the minimum wage for garment and footwear staff at 61 dollars a month.

Cambodian Labour Confederation president Ath Thun said was not enough to cover food, housing and travel expenses, and unions were demanding wages for some 345,000 workers be set at 93 dollars.

"We will strike by not working or by standing in front of the factories, but we will not have a street protest," he said.

"We want all the benefits given to every worker, and we also asked for regular renegotiation on salary supplements."

Manufacturers warned that the strike would result in a loss of production and a drop in orders from buyers, harming Cambodia's standing among investors.

"It will badly affect the reputation of the industry because the unions in question do not obey the law," Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers' Association in Cambodia (GMAC), told AFP.

Ken dismissed a 93-dollar minimum wage as "impossible", and said GMAC would advise any factories facing disruption to seek a court injunction declaring the strikes illegal and ordering the workers to return to work within 48 hours.

"Don't come to us and say 'We demand ABC, if you don't agree we will strike' -- this is a threat," he said, warning that stoppages could cause some factories to close down completely.

The minimum wage was determined in July and is set to come into force in the country's 470 garment factories in October.

Cambodia, where more than 30 percent of the country's 14 million people live on less than 50 US cents a day, relies on the garment industry as its largest source of income.

The sector was hit hard last year as the global financial crisis saw exports drop to 2.69 billion dollars, compared with 3.1 billion dollars in 2008.

During the first seven months of this year, exports increased 13.4 percent to 1.63 billion dollars, according to Ministry of Commerce.