AFP - 2 hours 16 minutes ago
PHNOM PENH (AFP) - - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday
called on the country's textile workers and manufacturers to unite as
the industry faces increased competition from China and Vietnam.
"If a factory cannot operate, both sides are lost, but the workers
will suffer the most," Hun Sen said in an address to workers in the
southwestern beach town of Sihanoukville.
"If there are no investors, there will be no workers and no chance to
ask for increased wages because there are no factories," he said.
Hun Sen also urged factory owners "to have good cooperation with
unions and workers as well as to take care the welfare of the
workers."
The premier appealed to the workers and manufacturers to respect
labour law and settle any disagreement peacefully because they were in
"the same boat."
Hun Sen also urged factory owners to consider a "maximum increase of
wages" for their workers.
Garment manufacturers earlier this month agreed to raise the basic
monthly wage of 50 dollars by six dollars after workers threatened to
strike as inflation soared.
No protests were re****ted in the capital Phnom Penh on Thursday as
about 300 workers rallied to mark May Day and demand manufacturers
respect workers' rights.
They also urged the government to form a "labour court" to deal with
their complaints.
"We will demand until our lives end," said Chea Mony, head of
Cambodia's largest workers' group, the Cambodian Free Trade Union.
"Our work conditions are not yet good. We are threatened and
discriminated against by employers," he added.
The garment industry grew only 8.0 percent last year after suffering a
dismal fourth quarter that saw orders plummet by nearly half,
according to the World Bank. It previously enjoyed growth of up to 20
percent.
The sector -- the country's largest source of foreign exchange --
faces increased competition from China and Vietnam, with further risks
looming due to an economic downturn in the US, Cambodia's biggest
market for textiles.
The garment industry employs an estimated 350,000 people in some 300
factories.
But the end of US restrictions against Chinese textile ex****ts in 2009
and greater productivity in Vietnam are likely to erode Cambodia's
position, industry officials have warned.
Deteriorating labour relations are also weakening the sector.
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