PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The Cambodian government has agreed to raise the minimum wage for clothing and footwear workers, a move that could help placate workers in the country's biggest export industry.
The Ministry of Labor, Vocational and Training said in a statement Thursday that the minimum wage would be raised by 9.2 percent to $153 a month, effective at the beginning of next year. The increase falls short of the $171 a month wage proposed by unions.
The clothing and footwear industry is Cambodia's biggest export earner, employing about 700,000 people in more than 700 garment and shoe factories. In 2015, the Southeast Asian country shipped nearly $6 billion worth of products to the United States and Europe.
The major Cambodian labor unions traditionally have been loosely allied with opposition parties.
