PHNOM PENH, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's National Council on Minimum Wage on Wednesday started to discuss annual increase of monthly minimum wage for workers in the garment, footwear and travel goods industry for 2025, the council said in a statement.
During the first meeting, the council presented key statistical updates on socio-economic criteria to form basis for the talks, the council said, adding that the council also received input such as current inflation, competition and market situation from representatives of employers and employees.
According to the statement, representatives of employers and employees have not proposed their respective specific figures for the negotiations yet as they needed further internal discussions.
"The next round of talks will be held on Aug. 29, Sept. 6, 12, 19 and 26," the statement said.
The garment, footwear and travel goods sector, the kingdom's largest foreign currency earner, consists of about 1,538 factories and branches with approximately 913,000 workers, according to the labor ministry.
The Southeast Asian nation exported garment, footwear and travel products worth 6.24 billion U.S. dollars during the first half of 2024, up 16.4 percent over the same period last year.
Monthly minimum wage for the sector is 204 dollars in 2024, an increase of 2 percent compared with 2023. Besides this minimum wage, the workers have also got fringe benefits such as a transport and housing allowance of seven dollars and a regular attendance bonus of 10 dollars per month. ■
