The Cambodian garment industry is grappling with minimum wage issue. Compared to the US, it’s clear that Cambodian workers aren’t flourishing. Consumer prices in the United States are 45.73 per cent higher than in Cambodia, yet the US has 693 per cent more purchasing power. Rent prices in the United States are 170.23 per cent higher than in Cambodia, but Americans make 1,242 per cent more money each month than Cambodians.

Inflation and rising costs of living are affecting Cambodia’s 15 million residents. Factories in Cambodia are fighting an increase in wages. They say an increase in workers’ wages would drive away companies outsourcing to Cambodia. The garment industry’s minimum wage, the only sector in the country with a wage floor, is $128 per month but industry leaders and researchers are eyeing $177 as the proposed increase to be effective in 2016.

Phnom Penh, where a cluster of Cambodia’s garment factories are located, has a relatively high cost of living when compared to the wages being dispensed. The cost of living in Phnom Penh is higher than that of Beijing. It’s also more expensive to live in Cambodia’s capital than Czech capital, Prague.