The findings reveal persistent gaps:
- Low basic wages: 99% of workers in the survey earn below the living wage threshold of USD 232 in Phnom Penh.
- Overtime dependency: Most workers rely on overtime to meet basic expenses, making them vulnerable to fluctuations in demand from brands.
- Restricted access to healthcare: Due to low wages, spending on necessary healthcare and food is often sacrificed by workers. This results in workers or family members having to live with persistent pain.
- Limited access to benefits: Skilled labour or food allowances are inconsistently applied.
- Debt and insecurity: Workers in the survey carry an average debt equal to 17 months of income with high interest rates.
- Freedom of association remains restricted, limiting workers' ability to negotiate improvements.
Over the past weeks Cambodian trade unions have already used the latest data in the annual minimum wage negotiations for the garment sector. Yet global trade pressures limited the wage increase to just USD 2, underscoring workers’ continued vulnerability. Especially women who make up 75.6% of the workforce and are concentrated in the lowest-paid positions.
The relevance of the data we collected however goes beyond national wage-setting. The Fair Work Monitor also offers Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) insights for brands and helps to identify and prioritize risks in the supply chain.
What is new in this year's report, is that we have included a list of factories where workers took part in the survey. These are factories where independent trade unions are active, and where many workers have received HRDD training, creating tangible opportunities for collaboration on the ground.
