Cambodian garment workers strike for higher pay

Phnom Penh, Sep 14 (Kyodo) - Cambodian garment workers have begun strikes seeking pay of up to USD 93 per month. Ath Thon, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union who leads the strikes, told Kyodo News yesterday that the unions want wages raised from the current minimum of USD 61 per month. He said the demand is "not extreme," particularly with daily expenses increasing due to hikes in food, gasoline and many other prices. Ath Thon added if there is no response from the companies then the strikes will go on for a week or longer. Ken Loo, secretary general of Garment Manufacturing Association of Cambodia, said he is still collecting data on how many of the estimated 300,000 workers at the association's 255 factories walked off the job yesterday. Ath Thon estimated about 50,000 workers from 40 factories took up the strike, but others sources suggested the number did not top 10,000. Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia President Chea Mony, the biggest and most influential labor association in the country, said his union was not involved in the strikes yesterday, but it supports the move "as long as it is for the interests" of the workers. Ken Loo said the strikes would affect production and could be harmful to the garment industry, particularly if foreign orders are affected. In July, the base wage in the industry, Cambodia's biggest, was raised to USD 61 a month from USD 50 through consultations among the companies, workers' representatives and the government. Ministry of Commerce figures show there are 320,734 workers, 293,664 of them women, working in 269 garment factories across Cambodia. In 2009, garment exports -- worth USD 2.4 billion -- accounted for than half Cambodia's USD 3.91 billion in exports.