"Internal labour ministry meetings on 2023 minimum wage start in July, tripartite talks in August", 24 June 2022

The labour ministry has scheduled a series of internal meetings … to discuss the 2023 minimum wage for the textile, garment, footwear, bags and travel goods sectors.

The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training said in a notice that bilateral and tripartite talks – between the government and representatives of employers and workers – would begin in August.

The notice said the National Council on Minimum Wage (NCMW) would convene a month later to finalise the minimum wage, which the ministry is to enact on January 1.

The NCMW comprises officials from the labour ministry, factory owner representatives, industry stakeholders and workers’ representatives from civil society organisations and trade unions.

Invoking Article 5 of the Law on Minimum Wage, the ministry called on all parties to base their internal deliberation process for a figure on formal data and reputable academic research on social criteria – such as household status, inflation rate and cost of living – and economic criteria, including productivity, competitiveness of the country, the labour market situation and sectoral profitability.

“All parties must follow the guidelines and measures of the Ministry of Health at all of its meetings and do their part to prevent an outbreak of Covid-19 in Cambodia,” the ministry said.

Last year, the NCMW had initially voted to keep the 2022 minimum wage for these sectors unchanged from $192 in 2021, until Prime Minister Hun Sen stepped in to add $2 to the total, making it $194 per month…