Training of tripartite constituents in 2015 on minimum wage fixing criteria
The first flagship training activity of the project was conducted in Cambodia over the period of 2 July to 28 August 2015, targeted at tripartite constituents (government, union and employer representatives) who are working in or associating with the garment and footwear sector in Cambodia.
Eight training courses and presentation sessions on understanding and applying minimum wage fixing criteria were delivered and presented to tripartite constituents. 197 tripartite representatives participated in these sessions, 68% of whom were union representatives.
Background:
Following the approval of its Labour Law in 1997, a minimum wage for Cambodia’s garment and footwear sector was first set in that same year. In the past, the minimum wage was adjusted on an irregular basis. At the national tripartite consultative workshop on the process of minimum wage setting in Cambodia (24-25 April 2014) under the technical support of the ILO, the tripartite constituents (government, employer and union) unanimously agreed to adopt five principles to guide minimum wage fixing in Cambodia, namely:
i. there should be annual reviews of the minimum wage;
ii. it’s preferable for adjustment to be predictable and gradual manner;
iii. the negotiation process should be based on the ‘win-win principle’ where possible;
iv. official statistics should be used and social & economic criteria are used as principle for discussion; and
v. negotiation is based on consensus or vote in a secret ballot.
The ILO training was launched to help tripartite constituents understand those principles and broaden their technical knowledge with particular focus on minimum wage fixing criteria.
The constituents had agreed to use a range of social and economic criteria to guide the adjustment of the minimum wage, including the:
i. needs of workers and their families
ii. cost of living and changes in prices (inflation);
iii. impact on enterprises, taking into account labour productivity, enterprises’ revenue and their ability to pay;
iv. impact on the competitiveness of Cambodia compared to other countries; and
v. impact on the labour market and employment.
Objective and expected outputs:
The objective of the training was to raise the technical knowledge of tripartite constituents to implement the renewed minimum wage adjustment process in Cambodia. The better understanding of criteria and the use of evidence-based analysis were expected to minimize the prospect of deadlock.
Background:
Following the approval of its Labour Law in 1997, a minimum wage for Cambodia’s garment and footwear sector was first set in that same year. In the past, the minimum wage was adjusted on an irregular basis. At the national tripartite consultative workshop on the process of minimum wage setting in Cambodia (24-25 April 2014) under the technical support of the ILO, the tripartite constituents (government, employer and union) unanimously agreed to adopt five principles to guide minimum wage fixing in Cambodia, namely:
i. there should be annual reviews of the minimum wage;
ii. it’s preferable for adjustment to be predictable and gradual manner;
iii. the negotiation process should be based on the ‘win-win principle’ where possible;
iv. official statistics should be used and social & economic criteria are used as principle for discussion; and
v. negotiation is based on consensus or vote in a secret ballot.
The ILO training was launched to help tripartite constituents understand those principles and broaden their technical knowledge with particular focus on minimum wage fixing criteria.
The constituents had agreed to use a range of social and economic criteria to guide the adjustment of the minimum wage, including the:
i. needs of workers and their families
ii. cost of living and changes in prices (inflation);
iii. impact on enterprises, taking into account labour productivity, enterprises’ revenue and their ability to pay;
iv. impact on the competitiveness of Cambodia compared to other countries; and
v. impact on the labour market and employment.
Objective and expected outputs:
The objective of the training was to raise the technical knowledge of tripartite constituents to implement the renewed minimum wage adjustment process in Cambodia. The better understanding of criteria and the use of evidence-based analysis were expected to minimize the prospect of deadlock.