Labor
Cambodian Government acts on employment
Long beset by low-paying jobs and a lack of skilled labour, Cambodia launched its first national policy for employment last week in an attempt to provide better employment opportunities for its people. The 13-page document, which took five years to draft, aims to improve the productivity ...
Myanmar maid death draws attention to flouting of domestic worker ban
A Myanmar domestic worker in Singapore fell 18 storeys from a condominium and died on 19 October, according to police reports. The incident has once again cast a spotlight on Singapore’s maid industry, which continues to thrive despite bans and restrictions. Keep reading ...
ILO seeks to raise attention on slavery
A new global treaty from the International Labour Organization (ILO) is calling on governments to step-up their commitment to tackling modern slavery in countries like Cambodia where forced labour remains endemic. Keep reading ...
Minister assures Lao jobs in rail megaproject
Authorities in charge have prepared a workforce recruitment plan for the planned construction of the Laos-China rail project, Minister of Public Works and Transport has said. Dr Bounchanh Sinthavong spoke to local media at a press conference recently and declared that a recruitment plan will be ...
Deal struck for migrant workers in Thailand
Thailand has agreed to relax enforcement against expired documents held by migrant Cambodians, which become invalid when they switch jobs without their previous employer’s written consent. The agreement was reached on 19 October during a meeting between Cambodia’s ambassador to Thailand and Thailand’s director general of the Department ...
Migrant workers fear impact of Mae Sot economic zone
The development by the Thai government of a special economic zone at Mae Sot, which is intended to improve trade and communications between Thailand and Myanmar, could have devastating consequences for local inhabitants. Keep reading ...
Cambodia PM: Wage may be too high
After weeks of occasionally tumultuous negotiations saw 2016’s minimum wage for garment workers raised to $140 earlier this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen warned on 19 October that the new rate could cause factories to flee Cambodia, even though he was credited with personally intervening to ...
Human trafficking on the rise in Vietnam: police
Many people are smuggled from Vietnam to Cambodia and China to work as prostitutes and forced labor at mines, Ho Sy Tien, director of the Crime Branch Police Department, said. “Human trafficking has been on the rise and become more sophisticated, with smugglers employing new tricks, ...
Cambodia's garment unions weigh protests
Garment workers unions unhappy with next year’s recently announced $140 minimum wage for the sector will meet this week to determine whether or not to hold demonstrations to protest the disappointingly low figure. The unions were pushing for $160 a month when the government announced the ...
LFTU's seventh congress concluded in Vientiane
The Seventh nationwide Congress of the Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) concluded on 15 October with the election of 49 members as the new Executive Committee to further oversee the tasks of the union. The congress elected Mr Pan Noymany as the President of the LFTU ...
