Prime Minister Hun Sen announced Sunday that civil servants and members of the armed forces will receive a minimum monthly salary of about $250 by 2018, the next year a national election is scheduled to be held.
Speaking to retired soldiers in Kampot province’s Chhouk district, Mr. Hun Sen also promised to increase pensions for former government employees and soldiers.
“Our goal is to get the lowest salary from 480,000 riel, equal to $120, for civil servants and armed forces who are working, up to 1,000,000 riel [about $250] during 2018,” Mr. Hun Sen said, adding that pensions would also rise proportionately.
“The increase in the salary of civil servants and armed forces will not only be done for those who are working but also the ones who are retired and disabled,” he said.
“The lowest will get 480,000 riel, or $120.”
In the 2013 election, the CNRP campaigned on a platform of increasing civil servant salaries to $250, a pledge Mr. Hun Sen said at the time was impossible because it would require increased taxes on farmers.
