Garment workers exit a factory at the end of an overtime shift on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Photograph: Will Baxter/Phnom Penh Post

Garment and footwear workers will be paid a government-mandated minimum wage of $75 per month – an increase of $14 – beginning in May, the Ministry of Social Affairs announced yesterday.

The increase, which ministry officials had agreed should be $12, was boosted by $2 after direct intervention from Prime Minister Hun Sen –  but it still wasn’t enough to appease non-government-aligned unions, which threatened to strike, saying an extra $14 would do little to lift workers out of poverty.

Continue reading: Wage increase sewn up

Source: (The Phnom Penh Post – March 22, 2013)