Labor unrest over wages continues in Cambodia. Activists have decried a decision by the Ministry of Labor to disregard union pleas for a hike in the minimum wage for some of the country’s 500,000 garment workers.

In December 2013, the minimum wage was set at $100, prompting workers and unionists to protest in thousands. But the movement was violently shut down on January 4, when military police forces opened fire on striking workers, killing five people. The process of trying to establish a minimum wage in Cambodia is proving to be tortuous. The industry has already seen its fair share of unrest over the past 12 months.

There is a demand that the process of fixing a minimum wage should be transparent and that it should involve unions, factory owners and government officials. Now virtually every brand investing in Cambodia has called on the government to be proactive. Brands on their part have committed to adjusting their costs in order to see an increased minimum wage.

The Cambodian garment industry produces clothes for brands such as Gap, H&M and Zara and exported 5.5 billion dollar worth of garments last year, which accounts for 80 per cent of its exports. In the first nine months of 2014, garments worth $4.44 billion were exported.