Unions are furious with Cambodia’s garment factories as they have shown inclination towards meeting worker’s demands for increasing the minimum wage next year. As per a survey among members of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), 63 per cent do not want a raise and 26 per cent support only marginal hike of $1-$5. The GMAC represents the country’s more than 500 factories. The factories and unions are to hold talks next month regarding the demand for a hike from the current monthly $128 minimum to $177 in 2016. A final decision will be made in October.

Ken Loo, Secretary General, GMAC says they asked members how much hike they could afford, but the members stated that could not afford any rise in wages. The garment industry is the largest economic sector in the country. However, it seems it’s going to be hard to sustain the $5 billion sector now. An increase in wages could placate workers, but will make the country uncompetitive, while protests by unions could scare investors away.

The garment industry in Cambodia has created 600,000 jobs that sustain rural families and has grown phenomenally through the years. However, strikes by increasingly assertive and politicised unions have become troublesome. The unions were outraged and threatened to go on strike if factories were unwilling to revise the wages.

Chea Mony, President of Free Trade Union said that if factories don’t hike pay, they could face problems of having no workers. Pav Sina of the Collective Union Movement of Workers, agreed with Mony saying that their workers would not be quiet as there would be no choice left for them.