Prime Minister Hun Sen offered his appreciation to workers across the country for their contribution to the development of the country, on the occasion of International Labour Day, celebrated globally on May 1.
“I also want to highlight that we should not just pay attention to respecting the rights of workers on May 1; we need to make sure that we do so each and every day. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure there is always excellent communication between factory owners and managers, and their workers,” he said, while presiding over a groundbreaking ceremony for a new container terminal at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS), which coincided with the holiday.
The prime minister also issued an official letter commemorating the 137th anniversary of International Labour Day, with the theme “Peace, security, careers and jobs.”
“This theme is very relevant and internationally important. We Cambodians understand the meaning of this theme clearly, as we know from our own experience that peace is the foundation for development in all sectors. Our people now live in harmony and enjoy better livelihoods,” said the letter.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Hun Sen met with nearly 1 million workers in 77 meetings, from August 2017 to May 2019.
According to the letter, he has also issued various recommendations to the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, along with several other state institutions and civil society organisations, in order to improve the protection of workers’ rights.
Hun Sen mentioned that the national minimum wage council had decided on a minimum wage of $200 for workers in textile-linked, footwear, and travel goods sectors for 2023.
“When other bonuses are added, each of them now receives between $217 and $228 per month,” he said.
“The government has prioritised human resource development in all phases of the Rectangular Strategy. Human resource development has been on top of the priorities list in the third and fourth phase of the Rectangular Strategy in order to promote knowledge, skills, capacity, and entrepreneurship, with responsibility,” he explained.
Hun Sen recently said that the government was preparing to provide vocational training to about 1.5 million of the Kingdom’s impoverished and vulnerable youth – along with financial support – from later this year.
Ath Thun, president of the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC), said that unions also celebrated the day, with the theme “Together promoting labour rights and freedom of union membership”. The celebration was held at the park of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), near Wat Phnom. The celebration was attended by about 2,000 participants.
Thun said the observation of the day served to encourage workers to thank their ancestors, especially the workers who had dedicated themselves to the cause of labour rights in Cambodia.
“We want the government to increase the minimum wage for factory workers to $250 a month. In addition, a minimum wage should be set in all other employment sectors, like agriculture, transportation, construction and tourism. They should also have a minimum wage, just like the one garment, footwear and travels goods factory workers enjoy,” he added.
Aside from increasing the minimum wage, He also suggested that relevant institutions examine ways to reduce the costs of fuel and fertiliser, along with a reduction in interest rates, in order to improve the living standards of workers.
