Cambodian garment workers demand higher pay

Tens of thousands of garment workers took to the streets of Cambodia today in a nationwide strike demanding a new round of negotiations on minimum wage.

The five-day walkout is the latest in a series of strikes across Asia over the past months, as workers in China, Bangladesh and Vietnam demand better pay and benefits.

“There are people out on the streets campaigning to get instead of $61 a month to feed a family, they’re asking for $93,” Sr Denise Coghlan, the director of Jesuit Refugee Services in Cambodia told Vatican Radio.

“The labour laws try to legislate that people have fair working conditions, and that there be a minimum wage and that they have fair holidays. But as in many countries in this part of the world and in other parts of the world too, the country is desperate to have economic investment,” Sr Denise said.

“So if we have [foreign companies] trying to make garments for instance in Cambodia, they’re looking for a profit and therefore they want people to work for the lowest possible wage.”