After the Cambodian government announced at the beginning of this October that the basic salary of garment workers would increase to US$140 next year (2016), the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) immediately requested to improve workers’ productivity and asked international buyers to increase the export of Cambodian products. The purchase price is because workers’ wages account for a large proportion of the factory’s total manufacturing costs. Therefore, workers’ productivity needs to be improved to reduce costs and keep the factory in operation.
Ath Thorn, chairman of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union, said he welcomed GMAC’s request to increase productivity, but said that if factories do not improve the environment, productivity cannot be improved. He said that what workers need is technical management, stop discriminating against workers, stop using short-term contracts, etc.
He said his employer had no interest in upgrading old machinery or extensive technical training.
GMAC Secretary General Ken Loo said that workers resist changes, even small changes, such as moving a worker to a different department. He said the biggest burden is workers’ reluctance to cooperate with their employers to improve productivity.
Although GMAC will set up a garment training center in September next year, other measures to improve productivity still need to rely on individual factories. Cambodian Garment Manufacturers Association calls for improved worker productivity
