PHNOM PENH: The Minister of Labor and Vocational Training, Ith Sam Heng, stated that under the Royal Government's intervention measures with the strategic framework and programs to restore and promote Cambodia's economic growth in living with Covid-19 in the new normal for 2021-2023, the employment and vocational training sector is considered a priority sector, which requires the introduction of the strategy for the development of the garment, footwear and bag industry in Cambodia 2021-2024. This strategic plan will ensure that this sector has long-term sustainability and will continue to grow and attract more investors to Cambodia.

The Minister of Labor made this statement on the occasion of the President of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC), Oknha Kong Sang, leading members of the Association to discuss work related matters with the Minister, as well as receive guidance on the direction of maintaining growth employment in this sector, at the Ministry of Labor on Thursday morning.

Minister Ith Sam Heng congratulated the Executive Committee for the new mandate and the results of the annual meeting of the Association, which achieved good results and can further increase the work efficiency for the Association to promote economic growth and exports due to the increasing number of Omicron cases. It is required that members of the association whose factories are operating today strictly implement the Ministry's standard operating standards (SOPs) to maintain the production chain and keep jobs for workers, and the Minister’s role is to promote a safe community in factories, enterprises, and establishments, by enhancing good relations between employers and workers for the common good.

Oknha Kong Sang said that the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training is still the first most relevant ministry for the labor sector. If the labor sector is chaotic, then the sector will not be sustainable and will not have growth, no matter how good other sectors in the country are. In this sense, coordination creates a better and more mature professional communication environment, leading to more stable production. During the Covid-19 crisis, Prime Minister Hun Sen’s vaccination policy, together with the support of the Ministry of Labor, ensured stable production and export growth.

Oknha Kong Sang added that in 2021, the export of garments was roughly US $11.3 billion, an increase of US $1.5 billion, equivalent to 15.2 percent. These exports included roughly billion footwear products, 1.3 billion and 1.4 billion travel products, in addition to other textile products. The association currently has 462 members, 132 garment factories and 92 footwear manufacturers.

Minister Ith Sam Heng emphasized that this association has been operating for the past 25 years and has acted as a unified representative voice of investors in the garment sector to protect and promote the rights and legitimate interests of all investors in this sector, creating a forum for consultation and social dialogue with all stakeholders on various issues with a potential impact on the overall investment climate, and creation of a favorable environment for export growth and sustainable development. In the past, the association has worked closely with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, the Ministry of Commerce, other relevant ministries, institutions, international labor organizations, unions and social partners, to contribute to the current socioeconomic development of Cambodia.

Through open dialogue and exchange, the partnership between the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training with GMAC is strengthened and better able to solve further problems, especially in the context of the growth of orders and a shortage of manpower. The Ministry has stressed it will continue to urge the National Employment Agency (NEA) and private recruitment agencies to provide sufficient work supply to factories that hold a high demand for labor in order to increase their production chains.