Phnom Penh garment factories have been a magnet for women from the provinces looking for better wages. [Reuters]
Radio Australia
Unions and manufacturers are at odds over the supply of labour in Cambodia.
Cambodia's garment industry says it is facing labour shortages with the cost of living forcing garment workers out of Phnom Penh.
Manufacturers are planning to shift production to the provinces to cope. But the unions say the real problem is low pay.
Most of Cambodia's 300-odd garment factories are located in and around the capital of Phnom Penh.
For more than a decade they've been a magnet to young women from the provinces - seeking monthly salaries of $US60.
But now many of the 400,000 workers are heading in the opposite direction, forced out of the capital by the spiralling cost of living.
Chea Mony, the President of the Free Trade Unions of Workers in Kingdom of Cambodia, told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program, the factories are now competing for the workers who are left.
They've asked him to recruit thousands of workers but, he says, he simply cannot find them.
"Some factories order 1,000, some order 2,000 and some order 500 workers and we cannot find that many workers," Mr Mony said.
The Garment Manufacturing Association in Cambodia, GMAC, says factories from around the capital are planning to disperse to the provinces with the support of the government.
However, Chea Mony says if factories move to the provinces, workers would be likely to be exploited with low salaries and poorer conditions.
"There wouldn't be any unions and the law wouldn't be respected.
"They would simply say if you can work with us you continue to work, or if you cannot cope with it, then it's up to you," Mr Mony said.
He says workers are deserting garment factories to find higher paying jobs in Thailand.
Search for better pay
Chea Mony says even doubling Cambodia's current minimum wage wouldn't meet the basic needs of a factory worker living in the capital.
Chan Sophal, president of Cambodia's Economist Association, believes Cambodia's real inflation rate is about 30 per cent - well above the most recent official figure of 18.7 per cent.
He says Cambodia still has plenty of labour available but warns that at current low rates of pay garment factories will continue to lose workers.
"To say Cambodia is short of labour is not true. "[There are] at least 200,000 workers now in Thailand, Malaysia, Korea."Especially in rural areas, wages also are rising so the garment industry has to offer attractive wages if they want labour," Mr Sophal said.
Unions and manufacturers are at odds over the supply of labour in Cambodia.
Cambodia's garment industry says it is facing labour shortages with the cost of living forcing garment workers out of Phnom Penh.
Manufacturers are planning to shift production to the provinces to cope. But the unions say the real problem is low pay.
Most of Cambodia's 300-odd garment factories are located in and around the capital of Phnom Penh.
For more than a decade they've been a magnet to young women from the provinces - seeking monthly salaries of $US60.
But now many of the 400,000 workers are heading in the opposite direction, forced out of the capital by the spiralling cost of living.
Chea Mony, the President of the Free Trade Unions of Workers in Kingdom of Cambodia, told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program, the factories are now competing for the workers who are left.
They've asked him to recruit thousands of workers but, he says, he simply cannot find them.
"Some factories order 1,000, some order 2,000 and some order 500 workers and we cannot find that many workers," Mr Mony said.
The Garment Manufacturing Association in Cambodia, GMAC, says factories from around the capital are planning to disperse to the provinces with the support of the government.
However, Chea Mony says if factories move to the provinces, workers would be likely to be exploited with low salaries and poorer conditions.
"There wouldn't be any unions and the law wouldn't be respected.
"They would simply say if you can work with us you continue to work, or if you cannot cope with it, then it's up to you," Mr Mony said.
He says workers are deserting garment factories to find higher paying jobs in Thailand.
Search for better pay
Chea Mony says even doubling Cambodia's current minimum wage wouldn't meet the basic needs of a factory worker living in the capital.
Chan Sophal, president of Cambodia's Economist Association, believes Cambodia's real inflation rate is about 30 per cent - well above the most recent official figure of 18.7 per cent.
He says Cambodia still has plenty of labour available but warns that at current low rates of pay garment factories will continue to lose workers.
"To say Cambodia is short of labour is not true. "[There are] at least 200,000 workers now in Thailand, Malaysia, Korea."Especially in rural areas, wages also are rising so the garment industry has to offer attractive wages if they want labour," Mr Sophal said.
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