PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Cambodia's National Council on Minimum Wage (NCMW) on Wednesday started to negotiate the annual hike of monthly minimum wage for the garment, footwear and travel goods industry for 2024, according to an NCMW press statement.
At the meeting, the NCMW delivered key statistical updates on socioeconomic criteria to form the basis for the 2024 minimum wage talks, it said.
The representatives of employers and employees have not yet proposed their respective specific figures for the negotiations, as they need further internal talks.
"The next meetings will be convened on Aug 28 and Sept. 4, 11, 18 and 25 at the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training," the statement said.
The garment, footwear and travel goods sector, the country's largest foreign currency earner, comprises some 1,100 factories and branches with around 750,000 workers, according to the ministry.
The Southeast Asian nation exported the products totally worth US$6.36 billion during the January-July period this year, down 20.4 per cent from $7.99 billion over the same period last year, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise.
The monthly minimum wage for the sector is $200 in 2023, an increase from $194 in 2022; however, workers have received other fringe benefits such as a transport and housing allowance of $7 and a regular attendance bonus of $10 per month.