DPA
Phnom Penh - Cambodian garment unions failed to agree a remuneration deal with manufacturers on Monday, but said they would meet later in the week to continue talks.
The lack of a deal came despite a letter from major international clothing manufacturers, such as the Adidas Group, pushing for an equitable solution.
Monday's meeting followed a four-day strike a fortnight ago that cost the industry an estimated 15 million dollars. Unions had complained that a July deal to increase the monthly minimum wage by five dollars to 61 dollars was insufficient.
Speaking to the German Press Agency dpa on Monday, union leader Ath Thorn said representatives from unions, the government and the Garment Manufacturers' Association of Cambodia (GMAC) would meet again on Wednesday.
Ath Thorn said the government had pressured manufacturers to drop a slew of legal cases filed against dozens of unionists and workers over the strike.
And he said unions would push for improved benefits rather than a higher minimum wage.
'Sixty-one dollars is not enough, but we don't have a choice because this (agreement) is binding so I stop with that,' he said. 'In general we are not happy with the minimum wage at 61 dollars, but we will continue to try with other benefits.'
A representative from GMAC was unavailable for comment.
The meeting was preceded by a letter from five international clothing companies: the Adidas Group, Levi Strauss and Co, Gap Inc, H&M Hennes & Mauritz, and the Walt Disney Company.
In their letter, which was addressed to Cambodia's minister of commerce, the unions and GMAC, the brand owners said they were watching the direction of events 'with great concern.'
They urged the parties to find a solution that was 'inclusive of all parties' concerns and provides longer term stability for the industry.'
'As buyers in Cambodia it is important that we can see mature industrial relations taking place, and that the process respects and includes all parties and stakeholders,' they said. The garment manufacturing industry is Cambodia's largest foreign exchange earner, with the bulk of exports sent to the United States and the European Union. The global economic crisis hammered the industry, which accounted for 15 percent of gross domestic product in 2008 and two-thirds of exports.
The Ministry of Labour said 93 factories closed last year with the loss of almost 70,000 jobs and dramatic cuts in overtime in other factories.
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