Government Bolsters Policy To Export Labor

Cambodia is hoping to increase the number of workers it sends abroad to absorb the some 300,000 young people entering the job market each year.

In a report made public Tuesday, the government said its labor migration policy will seek to make the export of labor the second-most robust sector, following garment factories.

There are more than 10,000 Cambodians working legally in Thailand, and nearly 20,000 working in Malaysia, Seng Sakada, director general of the Ministry of Labor, told VOA Khmer. South Korea employs nearly 9,000 workers.

“They are employed especially in small and medium factories, in fishery factories and in housework,” he said.

Labor Minister Vorng Soth told reporters Tuesday these numbers were small compared to other countries, which “send millions of their citizens to work abroad.”

The UN estimates that about 300,000 youths enter the work force each year, a number expected to climb to 400,000 in the near future. The construction and garment sectors have not developed quickly enough to employ all the new workers.

Among the countries Cambodia is eying for labor export are Kuwait, Hong Kong and Sinapore, Seng Sakada said.