Cambodian garment factory workers wait for the ride in front of their factory to go home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, June 8, 2007. Cambodian lawmakers approved reduction of night time pay for garment workers Friday, in a labor law amendment the government has deemed necessary for boosting jobs in the industry. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report grom Phnom Penh
08/06/2007
The National Assembly Friday approved an amendment to the labor law that will cut wages of nighttime factory workers, despite a boycott of the vote by opposition lawmakers and previous threats of strike from labor leaders.
The amendment, which proponents say is necessary to keep Cambodia competitive in a global market, will reduce wages for night-shift workers by 70 percent, Labor Minister Vong Soth said. They had been earning twice the daytime wages.
The cut could add as many as 200,000 jobs to Cambodia's top economic earner, Vong Soth said.
Members of the Sam Rainsy Party boycotted the vote.
SRP lawmaker Son Chhay said the amendments catered to industrial bosses, especially garment factory owners, who for years have complained of high wages on the overnight shift, which runs from 10 pm to 5 am.
"We see the loss of additional benefits, and this cannot sustain livelihoods," he said.
President of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Chea Mony, called the amendment a "knife that kills" workers.
"We see clearly that if the Assembly adopts this law, there will be strikes at the factories," he said.
The amendment, which proponents say is necessary to keep Cambodia competitive in a global market, will reduce wages for night-shift workers by 70 percent, Labor Minister Vong Soth said. They had been earning twice the daytime wages.
The cut could add as many as 200,000 jobs to Cambodia's top economic earner, Vong Soth said.
Members of the Sam Rainsy Party boycotted the vote.
SRP lawmaker Son Chhay said the amendments catered to industrial bosses, especially garment factory owners, who for years have complained of high wages on the overnight shift, which runs from 10 pm to 5 am.
"We see the loss of additional benefits, and this cannot sustain livelihoods," he said.
President of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Chea Mony, called the amendment a "knife that kills" workers.
"We see clearly that if the Assembly adopts this law, there will be strikes at the factories," he said.
6 comments:
If the government couldn't provide an increase of low job pay like garment factory, how can this government run the country? Every year the pay raise needs to be increased as the cost of living increases. Why is the opposit? DOES THIS CONGRESS CUT THEIR PAY RAISE TOO? THEY DON'T NEED TO CUT THEIR PAY RAISE; THEY CAN CORRUPT AND STEEL MONEY FROM FOREIGN AIDS AND CAMBODIA PEOPLE.
THEY SHOULD CUT THEIR PAY, NOT THE FACTORY WORKER. DON'T YOU THINK THESE CLOTHES SELL IN THE UNITED STATES ARE CHEAP? NOPE, THEY'RE EXPENSIVE AND PAY KHMER WORKER CHIP. Y0U'RE BETTER ON STRIKE IF YOU DON'T AGREE WHAT STUPID KHMER CONGRESS DID.
Great, but we still need to
abolish such a stupid law entirely,
and let the company decides how much
to pay night workers. That is how
the rest of the world doing it.
We want the citizens poor and unducated so that we can instruct them to follow us easily. This is a way we can do. Sorry, we have no choice.
Noope, if people choose to be uneducated, that is their choice,
just like Ah Khmer-Gringoes choice
abroad.
We want to keep people poor so we can bride them to vote for us (CPP).
I prefer to use the word "lobbying"
for us (CPP) if you don't mind.
Bribing is something that Ah Sam
Nazi would do, but not us.
Post a Comment