Clothing Workers In Cambodia, Bangladesh And Other Countries Have Been Fighting For Higher Wages

　 China the labor and capital The dispute is being replicated in East Asia. Some factories that compete with China and supply low-cost goods are facing employee downtime. These employees are demanding better pay and benefits.

In Cambodia, workers are preparing to hold a three-day strike against the dispute over the minimum wage. In Vietnam, thousands of workers in a Taiwan funded shoe factory recently went on strike to ask for higher wages. In Bangladesh, a series of violent demonstrations caused by low wages recently took place

These disputes are similar to similar actions in China. In China, workers' growing dissatisfaction has led to labor disputes and wage increases. As a result, foreign factory owners are increasingly moving production from South China and East China (long regarded as the "world factory") to inland China and other developing countries in Asia.

The labor cost of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos is still far lower than that of China. However, although the governments of these countries compete to attract overseas manufacturers, trade union organizations are keen to protect their members, so the labor action and minimum wage in this region are on the rise.

Cambodia's minimum wage ranks among the lowest in the world Clothing Workers earn $50 a month, plus a living allowance of $6. The Cambodian government has proposed a salary increase of $5, but the Free Trade Union, which represents more than 80000 workers, still intends to strike unless the minimum wage is increased to $70.

The Vietnamese government has raised the minimum wage of workers in foreign-funded enterprises to 1 million dong (US $52.50) this year. In Laos, the minimum wage has been raised from 290000 kip (US $35) to 348000 kip (US $42) last year.

John Ritchotte of the International Labour Organization (ILO) said that Cambodia has relatively more active trade unions, and most garment factory workers are represented by trade unions. However, he pointed out that labor disputes in Southeast Asia are not uncommon.

"Even those countries without independent trade unions, such as Vietnam and Laos, will have labor disputes, especially in the period of high inflation," he said. "In the past five years, the number of disputes has risen significantly."

Nevertheless, Cambodia's open business environment (foreign capital can 100% own enterprises) is expected to attract more and more foreign investment. According to the data of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia, in the first quarter of 2010, there were 290 new foreign-funded enterprises registered in the country, up 56% year on year.

Recently, a series of violence caused by low wages occurred in Bangladesh demonstration Bangladesh has more than 4500 garment factories. For this poor country, garment manufacturing is one of the main economic sources.

Earlier, after several days of violent protests in an industrial zone on the outskirts of the capital, hundreds of factory owners closed their factories on the grounds of "panic and anarchy". The next day, the authorities sent nearly 1000 riot police to guard the security, and the factories were reopened.

The garment factory workers in Bangladesh manufacture ready to wear clothes for some famous western brands such as Wal Mart and H&M, and they require to increase their monthly salary to at least 5000 Taka, while their current monthly income is only 25 dollars.

The Bangladeshi government has said that it will increase the wages of the country's 3 million garment workers by the end of July, and ask them to wait patiently.

Of Bangladesh's $15.56 billion exports last year, clothing exports accounted for almost 80%, and nearly 40% of the country's industrial labor force was garment workers.

Clothes retailers such as French Carrefour and Levi's wrote to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in January this year, asking for a comprehensive wage increase for workers.