Cambodia garment workers protest low pay

Encouraged by labor agitation in the region, tens of thousands of workers stage a walkout. It nets only a government proposal to discuss benefits in the future, but organizers call the strike a success.

Cambodian workers attend a rally during a strike last week at the Chinese-owned Pine Great Cambodia Garment Co. in Phnom Penh. (Chor Sokunthea, Reuters / September 12, 2010)

By Brendan Brady, Special to the Los Angeles Times
September 19, 2010
Reporting from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Tens of thousands of garment workers staged a walkout in the Cambodian capital in recent days, encouraged by agitation across the region for improved pay and benefits in the low-paying apparel industry.

In Bangladesh, an 80% increase in the monthly minimum wage to $43, still the lowest in the region, didn’t stop riots last month by workers who said the raise was not enough.

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Cambodia’s work stoppage was relatively peaceful, with participants from the industry’s overwhelmingly female workforce chanting slogans and occasionally pumping their fists. Work stoppages ended in the middle of last week with a government proposal to discuss workers’ benefits at a later date.