Cambodia garment factories call for wage cuts as pandemic bites

Unions reject appeal to government for temporary 'flexibility' on legal minimum pay

20200622 Cambodia garment factory

Garment workers sew clothes at a factory outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia on April 27. (Photo by Masayori Ishikawa)

SHAUN TURTON, Contributing writer

PHNOM PENH -- A group representing garment factories in Cambodia is urging the government to suspend the minimum wage to help the sector face "desperate times" in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Cambodia's apparel and footwear sector is vital to the country's economy, generating $10 billion in annual exports and employing 800,000 people. It has been pummelled by the coronavirus crisis, which has wreaked havoc with global consumer demand.

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