Fashion companies agree to increase minimum wage for workers in Cambodia

Eight international fashion companies, including some of Europe's largest apparel firms

such as H&M, Primark and Inditex, have stated that they are willing to pay more for garments produced in Cambodia and support trade union campaign for higher wages for garment factory workers.

The fashion companies have written to Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon and to the chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, revealing that they are prepared to add in higher wages for factory workers in the price they pay for garment manufactured in the country.

“Our purchasing practices will enable the payment of a fair living wage and increased wages will be reflected in our prices,” read the letter sent the retailers, according to WWD. The increased prices are designed to also take into account the “productivity and efficiency gains and the development of the skills of workers, carried out in cooperation with unions at workplace level,” added the letter.

The decision comes after thousands of Cambodian garment workers took to the street by thousands earlier this month to demand the increase of the national wage to 177 dollars a month (108 pounds), from 100 dollars (61 pounds) per month.

According to the organization Clean Clothes Campaign the current minimum wage per month only covers one-fifth of a livable wage, which the organization Asia Floor Wage sets at 224.88 pounds per month.