The salary for Cambodian civil servants has seen an average increase of 540 per cent compared to salaries in 2001, according to a report from the national news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse last Thursday.

The information was given by Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers in a meeting on public administrative reform on September 25.

Yim Serey Vathanak, national project coordinator on trade unions for social justice of the ILO for Workers Activities, said on average, civil servants earn about US$80 per month.

It was difficult to see a trend in the country’s general salary development and to generalise trends for other sectors, he added.

Yim Serey Vathanak said the garment sector was an exception because it had seen several wage increases since 2000.

According to the 2011-2012 Private Sector Salary and Benefits Survey by HRINC Cambodia, an annual survey based on the answers provided by 31 participating companies, respondents said salaries for employees had increased by 10 per cent on average during 2011 and 2012.

However, HRINC Cambodia Senior Analyst Nil Keorachana said Cambodia’s private sector did not see a general increase in salary levels and that company salary increases would  depend upon employee performance.

According to Yim Serey Vathanak, employees in Cambodia’s banking and hotel sector earned relatively high wages.

“In the hotel sector, especially three stars upwards, they get good salaries and good working conditions,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anne Renzenbrink at [email protected]