As workers protest in their thousands, the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) this morning strongly urged its member factories to close for the rest of this week, fearing strike-related violence.

“If the workers are working in the factories, some bad elements of the demonstrators will go around and destroy your factories gates and properties in order to force the workers out to join the demonstration to demand a wage of US$160,” reads a letter sent by email and obtained by the Post. “It is safer if there are no workers in the factories.”

Five labour unions called for a nationwide strike on Tuesday, hours after the Ministry of Labour announced that the minimum wage in Cambodia’s garment sector would rise next year from the current $80 – including a $5 health bonus – to $95, rather than the $160 workers want.

Continue reading:GMAC calls for factories to shutter