Illustrative photo. (Source: qz.com)Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT) isconducting a survey on garment workers’ living conditions and the impact ofCOVID-19 on them until July 31, local Khmer Times reported.
According toan announcement, MLVT has informed all owners or directors of enterprises andworkers in the textile, garment and footwear sector and relevant authoritiesthat the survey by the National Council on the Minimum Wage has been conductedon a random sample of employees selected in Phnom Penh and provinces.
When askedwhat he purpose of the survey is and what will be thegovernment’s measures to further assist laid-off workers due to COVID-19,Labour Ministry spokesman Heng Sour declined to comment, saying that the surveyis the ministry’s internal work conducted annually to submit to the NationalCouncil on the Minimum Wage.
According tofigures from the MLVT, more than 410 factories have been suspended in Cambodia,affecting 240,000 workers.
Prime MinisterHun Sen announced in early July that 70,000 laid-off workers received monthly wageassistance from the government of 40 USD per person.
Losing a jobmeans no revenue and 90 percent of workers have loan from banks, microfinanceinstitutions or rural creditors, said Ath Thorn, president of workers union of the Cambodia LabourConfederation (CLC).
Thorn said sofar buyers are still not placing new orders and the situation currently isstill bad for the garment sector.
Anotherconcern is that when the situation returns to normal and garment and textilesuppliers in the world release their products to the market, Cambodia will facetough competition because the country will lose 20 percent of the Everythingbut Arms (EBA) trade tariff with the European Union (EU), he added./.
VNA
