About 110,000 teachers and other education staff across the country will receive pay rises between September and April as part of government salary reforms, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony, Hun Sen said the reforms will eliminate “level D” employees, promoting them to “level C”. Teachers at all other levels, except those at “level A”, would receive increases of about 30 per cent, he said.

“Let the officials who get low salaries receive the raises first,” he added, referring to a promise that wage reforms will follow in other ministries.

Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association, who has in the past lobbied for a $250 minimum wage for teachers, welcomed the increases but said the vast majority of teachers would still earn far below the salary needed to live a decent life.

“[This] will not make the lives of teachers and civil servants better because inflation is still high,” he said.