Construction booms but salaries fall behind

The government says wages for unskilled construction workers are rising in line with the building boom, but ask any labourer and you’ll hear otherwise

WAGES for low-level workers in construction are not keeping pace with the building boom despite official government statistics suggesting they are ahead of inflation, industry representatives say.

While workers can boost their earnings by specialising in specific areas, general labourers doing so called muscle jobs are struggling to make ends meet – particularly those who have left the countryside to seek a living in the capital.

Sok Kin, President of the Building and Woodworkers Trade Union Federation of Cambodia (BWTUC), said wages were definitely not keeping pace with demand and were lower than government statistics.

The union estimates that manual laborers earned between 16,000 to 40,000 riels (between $4 and $10) a day, with an average of 30,000 riels.

“This is low compared to $10 – $12.5 wage per day in Thailand,” he said. “Moreover, Cambodian construction workers do not have insurance or other benefits.”

The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, says the average wage for unskilled construction workers in 2017 was between 35,000 to 40,000 riels per day. Semiskilled labourers and supervisors averaged from 50,000 to 75,0000 riels while those with accredited qualifications moved out of the daily-rate category and could expect upwards of $400 a month. An informal survey of labourers suggests otherwise.

“When I first started construction work in 2015, I received 18,000 riels a day carrying tiles and mixing concrete,”said Kim Hong, a 24-year-old from Svay Rieng province. “My first job was really tiring because I needed to work under the sun for long hours every day.”

Despite having now specialised as a tile aranger, Hong still makes just 45,000 riels doing literally back-breaking work for eight hours a day on a borey construction site in Khan Por Sen Chey.

“A construction worker requires great endurance and physical force and is prone to danger, but the wage isn’t equivalent to the work required,” he said.

Even on $340 per month – against a national minimum wage of $160 – he is unable to save enough money to support his hometown family.

“Food takes a lot out of the salary, not to mention medicines, household costs and various other costs. “I only received a raise because I specialised in tile arranging. If I didn’t have a specific skill, I don’t think my wages would exceed 25,000 riels.”