Cambodia’s third spherical of tripartite negotiations on the 2027 minimal wage ended Friday with out settlement, with employer representatives sustaining the present $210 month-to-month price whereas employee representatives continued to hunt will increase to $225.30 or $250.66, in accordance with Labor Minister Heng Bitter.
He stated the worldwide financial outlook stays unsure, as do the power disaster and circumstances in different sectors, whereas noting that some international locations within the area have decrease wages than Cambodia, which might trigger challenges in competitiveness.
“Primarily based on these elements, we face difficulties in elevating wages,” he stated.
“On the federal government facet, we defined to the related events that elevated revenue doesn’t essentially imply growing the wage determine for a selected sector. If we are able to create new jobs, family incomes might rise greater than merely elevating the wage determine [seeing that] households should not have new work alternatives.”
Past advocacy for increased wages, a marketing campaign has emerged arguing that calls for for increased wages might pressure factories to shut. It claims that increased wages would improve the prices for manufacturing unit homeowners, which happens at a time when financial circumstances are “unfavorable for wage will increase”.
In a video posted on a Fb web page referred to as “MLVT Fan”, garment staff stated: “If we demand increased wages, jobs in Cambodia might now not stay. So why demand it? If firms shut their doorways, we gained’t be capable to discover higher jobs than these.”
In accordance with a joint assertion from 125 native and worldwide civil society organizations, the proposed improve of $40.66 is predicated on analysis exhibiting that many staff battle to cowl family bills, meals and debt repayments.
The teams stated the rise would assist defend staff’ buying energy and progressively slender the hole between the statutory minimal wage and dwelling wages.
On September 14, a joint letter by commerce unions cited research from 2022 and 2024 in addition to preliminary findings in 2026 to indicate that common earnings coated solely about 60% of family bills. A 2025 research reported that staff took dwelling a mean month-to-month wage of $287 in comparison with median family spending of $391, the letter said.
Khut Sokha, a manufacturing unit employee in Kien Svay district, stated staff would battle to stay if wages didn’t improve, as the worth of products and different requirements continued to rise. She stated staff are pressured to work additional time to earn extra revenue to help their households.
“If the wage stays at $210, it is going to have an effect on us. The worth of products and gasoline are growing. So if employers nonetheless don’t increase our wages, we might be severely affected,” she stated.
Sok Kanh, a manufacturing unit employee in Phnom Penh, expressed an identical view, including that calls for for increased wages “wouldn’t essentially pressure manufacturing unit homeowners to shut their enterprise” and transfer out of Cambodia. She stated factories in each nation should observe laws and take wages into consideration.
“Wages in different international locations could also be decrease, however issues there are additionally cheaper. They don’t seem to be as costly as in Cambodia. All the pieces is dear right here,” she stated.
Wage will increase don’t make staff rich, because the rise is just about $2 a 12 months performed through government-set changes. She stated such will increase don’t preserve tempo with rising costs.
“The federal government ought to take a look at the worth of products and hire. If costs proceed to rise, even when staff’ wages attain $500, it nonetheless gained’t be sufficient,” Kanh stated.
Yang Sophorn, president of the Cambodian Alliance of Commerce Unions (CATU), stated employers didn’t conform to any of their proposed figures through the third spherical of negotiations and continued to keep up their place towards a wage improve.
Staff would proceed to face issues, together with insufficient meals, and debt repayments, in addition to rising housing prices and rental, and value of dwelling, if minimal wage is just not elevated, she instructed CamboJA Information.
“I believe elevating the wage to $250 is just not past the flexibility of employers in Cambodia to supply to staff,” she stated. “And I consider Cambodia nonetheless has favorable circumstances for the garment sector, reasonably than factories leaving for different international locations.”
The organizations stated analysis additionally reveals that indebted garment staff generally scale back meals consumption to repay loans, whereas different research level to widespread debt and additional time work. They stated rising costs have additional strained family budgets.
The teams referred to as on the Labor Ministry, Nationwide Council on Minimal Wage, employers and worldwide manufacturers to have interaction constructively with the unions and take into account the proof offered by staff and their representatives on the wage hike.
