Cambodia - LSGSC Project
Training Seminars on Minimum Wage Fixing Criteria
As part of its regular technical assistance to strengthening evidence-based minimum wage fixing processes in Cambodia, the Labour Standards in Global Supply Chains (LSGSC) project delivered two training seminars on Minimum Wage Fixing Criteria, with the participation of workers’ organizations and employers’ organizations.
The training was delivered in August 2018, strategically timed to coincide with the lead-up to the periodic annual cycle of minimum wage negotiations in Cambodia. A total of 32 trade union representatives, including 8 female representatives and 17 employer representatives, including representatives and board members and secretariat staff of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and the Cambodian Federation of Employers and Business Associations (CAMFEBA) took part in the training.
The two training seminars saw active engagement from the trade union and employer participants. Key discussion topics for interactive learning included: Clarification regarding the components of national accounts; definition, composition, and methodologies for estimating ‘intermediate inputs’; and the concept of ‘value added’. Employer participants, based on their hands-on day-to-day engagement and reporting to government authorities, shared their insights and contributed to the elaboration of the indicators derived from official administrative data.
Purpose of the training
The purpose of the training seminars was to increase the level of capacity and common understanding regarding key minimum wage fixing criteria, both in terms of social as well as economic criteria, as well as data sources and analytical methodologies that can be utilised to inform evidence-based positions of the parties during minimum wage negotiations. As a basis for shared understanding, the training seminars introduced common approaches to both employer and worker participants.Learning outcomes
In particular, the training seminars increased the capacity of the participants in relation to the following learning areas:- Hands-on learning and application of the latest (2018) administrative data issued by Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLVT), including data on the number of operating garment factories in Cambodia, employment and wage bills, and estimations of the labour productivity and profitability of Cambodia’s garment sector.
- Updates to national administrative data and figures, and comparative international sources.
The two training seminars saw active engagement from the trade union and employer participants. Key discussion topics for interactive learning included: Clarification regarding the components of national accounts; definition, composition, and methodologies for estimating ‘intermediate inputs’; and the concept of ‘value added’. Employer participants, based on their hands-on day-to-day engagement and reporting to government authorities, shared their insights and contributed to the elaboration of the indicators derived from official administrative data.