Free Trade Union President Chea Mony said Tuesday that his members will strike unless the minimum wage for garment factory workers is increased by 10 percent.
Chea Mony wrote to the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia on Friday requesting a meeting to discuss increasing the monthly minimum wage from $50 to $55.
“I would like to inform you that the current increased prices of goods in the market has affected living standards,” Chea Mony wrote in his letter to GMAC Chairman Van Sou Ieng.
The last calls for an increase in the minimum wage for garment workers were met in October 2006 after the government raised the minimum from $45 to $50.
Chea Mony said the FTU will make three attempts to convince GMAC to increase the minimum wage before taking strike action.
“If they fail to increase [salaries]…it means they are discriminating against the workers and they can go on strike,” he said.
Chea Mony said that he also wrote to Finance Minister Keat Chhon asking that the government find a way to stabilize growing inflation.
GMAC Secretary-General Ken Loo said Tuesday that his organization had received Chea Mony’s letter, but is unable to respond until Van Sou Ieng returns from overseas later this month.
“We are waiting for Van Sou Ieng before we discuss anything,” he said.
Ministry of Labor Undersecretary of State Oum Mean said it is up to the factory owners to decide whether or not they can afford to increase the minimum wage. And Finance Ministry Secretary of State Chea Peng Chheang said there is little that can be done to curb inflation.
“The government policy is trying to decrease the inflation, but inflation is driven by the world market,” he said.
