A draft of the universal minimum wage law handed over to unions and employers in Cambodia recently was devoid of the controversial clauses in earlier versions that penalised individuals for protesting or putting pressure on the wage determination process. The step has been welcomed by unions and labour rights groups, who had raised concerns over the clauses.
The draft law aims to bring other sectors under the ambit of minimum wage, which currently applies only to the garment and footwear sectors, according to report. Two earlier clauses that imposed fines on anyone putting ‘obstacles’ or ‘illegal pressure’ on the wage determination process and for protesting the determined wage, are missing from the latest draft.
The Labour Ministry had earlier scrapped another contentious article that would have forbidden any independent research into the annual wage negotiation process without prior approval from the Ministry. Employer representative SokLor said stakeholders seemed to accept the current draft, which still contains some penalties for employers for violating sections of the law, including the requirement to pay the minimum wage.
