While the a year after garment workers’ strikes, Cambodia’s minimum wage has been increased by 63 per cent, for the first 11 months of 2014, orders for apparel and footwear from Cambodian factories increased just 1 per cent from the previous year, according to the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia. Before the hike, Cambodian garment industry was registering an annual growth of 20 per cent. Industry experts opine that rapid wage hikes, frequent strikes, political instability, and negative media coverage have damaged the competitiveness of Cambodian factories. Cambodia’s effective minimum monthly wage – US $ 128 a month plus a mandatory US $ 17 monthly allowance paid by the employer for transportation and housing is equal to the high end of wages in Vietnam’s US $ 145 and significantly above Bangladesh’s US $ 68.
