Labor
Laos Federation of Trade Union's seventh congress underway in Vientiane
The seventh nationwide congress of the Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) opened on 14 October in Vientiane to summarise their work and plan for the year ahead as well as elect a new executive committee. Keep reading ...
Hunger strikers see no end to pay dispute
The Labour Ministry considers the wage dispute at the Han Jen garment factory done and dusted, but workers yesterday told The Myanmar Times their woes are far from solved. “[The labour director] said the Han Jen worker’s dispute is finished and was resolved okay. Actually, we haven’t ...
Laos SEZs prove to be major job generators
Sixty-five companies from Laos and foreign countries including Thailand at the Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone have created over 4,500 jobs for local people. According to Thongsay Sayavongkhamdy, a senior official from the Savannakhet provincial authority, from now until 2020, both local and overseas companies are expected to ...
LAC ups garment salary to $140
Following an at-times turbulent process, Cambodia on 8 October set the 2016 minimum wage for garment workers at $140 per month, a $12 increase from the current rate of $128 but well below union demands for $160. Labour Minister Ith Samheng announced that the government’s wage-setting group, ...
Factory hunger strike continues
Around 20 factory workers are still hunger striking while effective pay cuts and unpaid salaries continue, despite a government order that employers must implement the new minimum wage across all sectors. Workers at the Han Jen garment factory started the hunger strike on 5 October. They demand their ...
Rohingya trafficking victims endure stress of limbo, stranded in Thailand
The strapping 23-year-old Rohingya Muslim was matter of fact as he described being forced onto a boat in Myanmar for a tortuous two-month-long journey, beaten and kicked by traffickers as he watched scores die of starvation and thirst along the way. He said he was abandoned in ...
Cambodia's new garment sector minimum wage set at $140
The Cambodian government set the new monthly minimum wage for the country’s billion-dollar garment sector at $140 on 8 October—up from $128—more than what factory owners wanted but far less than the raise demanded by some unions. Keep reading ...
Myanmar fishermen agree to return to Indonesia for long-sought justice
Fishermen who had been enslaved and abused onboard illicit trawlers plying far-flung Indonesian islands will soon be headed back to the nation where they were held captive for up to a decade. This time they’re after justice, and will take part in a lawsuit against one ...
US report lauds Thai efforts to combat child labour
The US Department of Labour has upgraded Thailand to the “significant advancement” category for child labour after efforts in recent years have made progress in thwarting the harmful practice. The department on 30 September released a report entitled Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour 2014, which ...
Unions balk at floated figure
Garment worker unions on 30 September decried a preliminary, government-suggested increase to the minimum wage as being far too close to what they perceive as a lowball offer from employers. As tripartite wage talks continue, unions said officials from the government’s Labour Advisory Committee had on 29 ...
