Joint call on higher minimum wage in Cambodia
H&M has been engaged in raising the minimum wage in the textile industry in Cambodia for several years. A collaborative approach is crucial and that is why we today, together with other brands, have sent a letter to the Cambodian government and to Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) to clarify our shared position and intention in the upcoming wage negotiations in Cambodia.
The brands positions in short:
Workers in all production countries should have the right to a fair living wage. To ensure this, we expect an assured, inclusive and consistently applied national collective bargaining process between the legitimate parties within the labour market. This process must allow consideration of suggestions brought to the bargaining table by all parties, including labour, employer and government representatives.
We also expect government and GMAC to establish processes ensuring that all workers receive the new agreed minimum wage by monitoring wage implementation and policing suppliers that fail to meet the new minimum wage level. This will ensure an equal level playing field and create a competitive advantage for the factories that comply with the new minimum wage.
We further expect that the annual industry collective bargaining process for wages is fair and takes into account the ILO technical expertise. We will support the installation of this process by working closely promoting mature industrial relations through capacity building with our suppliers, their factories and the labour representatives, optimally via the BFC platform.