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NEWSLETTER 13, NOVEMBER 2000
Report from Cambodia:
20,000 WORKERS STRIKE FOR HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE
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Workers from up to 69 different garment factories producing
for brands including Nike, the Gap, Ralph Lauren, C&A, Lotto,
and Calvin Klein, went on strike from June 21 to 27, demanding
an increase in the minimum wage from US$40 to US$70 per month.
The $40 minimum wage, in effect at that time of the strike, had
been set by a January 1997 agreement between employers and the
government. For at least two years, workers and unions have demanded
negotiations on a minimum wage increase and finally managed to
put in on the agenda of the tripartite Labour Advisory Committee
on June 20. However, the Committee did not come to any resolution,
thereby prompting the week-long strike.
The Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC)
is the only Cambodian union which currently supports an increase
of the minimum wage above US$50 per month. Following the June strikes
workers did succeed in getting a slight increase to the minimum
wage - to US$45 per month - but the FTUWKC believes this increase
is insufficient and continues to campaign for a living wage for
Cambodian garment workers.
The FTUWKC reports that, based on World Bank estimates of inflation,
the minimum wage should have increased to $50 per month at the end
of 1998, just to keep up with the rise in consumer prices. The Cambodian
Labor Organization (CLO) has published a survey showing that the
average five person household in Phnom Penh spends $191 per month.
The study also estimated that living costs in Phnom Penh, where
the garment industry is centered, are 80% higher than in other urban
areas throughout Cambodia. Furthermore, using figures published
by the Garment Manufacturers' Association (GMAC) in the Cambodia
Daily in May, the Free Trade Union estimates that a wage increase
to US$70 per month will only increase by production costs by 2.8%
because wages make up only a fraction of production costs in Cambodia.
The CCC supports the campaign for a living wage for Cambodian garment
workers. For more information on this issue or for more information
on how to participate in the CCC urgent
appeal system to support garment workers engaged in labour disputes,
please regularly check our website: www.cleanclothes.org
or contact the urgent appeals coordinator at any of the CCC campaigns.
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