2:51:00 AM
As the booming construction sector attracts more rural Cambodians to seek employment in the capital, the different working conditions between high-rises in urban areas and borey developments have factored into varying degrees of earning potential and living standards.
According to estimates by the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, there are 160,000 construction workers in the sector, while an ANZ report released earlier this year looked at the growth of wages between August 2013 and August 2014 stated that construction worker salaries varied from $8 a day for skilled labourers to $6 a day for unskilled workers.
On the dusty outskirts of Phnom Penh, beneath an unfinished residential home at Borey Mongkul along National Road 1, 21-year-old Van watched the rice water boil as he added kindling to the fire. Behind him was his makeshift home—a thin surface of plywood with a sheet for bedding protected from the elements by the cement shell above him. Besides having access to water, there is little else of comfort.
Originally from Kampong Cham, Van came to greater Phnom Penh a year ago with no prior construction skills. Earning $5.75 a day, he has learned how to lay bricks and pour cement under the guidance of his supervisor.
“Now I earn $6.10 a day. The [construction company] allows me to live here until the project is finished. Then I will find another job in the area and another place to live,” he said.
Working up to eight hours a day, six days a week, Van said he makes $120 a month.
“In Phnom Penh [city], the pay is more, but I don’t have the skills to get employed [there],” he said.
Los Lee, the site supervisor said that 20 people live at this construction site—many of which travel to adjacent borey projects to earn extra income.
While not making a daily wage, Lee gets paid by productivity.
“I make $35 for every cubic metre of poured cement. When there are more seasonal workers, I get paid more,” he said. When it comes to safety standards, he said that although the construction company provides safety helmets, workers had to purchase their own gloves and often worked in flip-flops. He noted that due to a lack of oversight, adherence to safety operates on an ad hoc basis.
Sarath, an 18-year-old girl from Prey Veng, travelled down for seasonal work with her 21-year-old brother Pors. As she sat cross-legged while resting against the wall of her hut, she said that as a woman, she could only earn $5 a day to carry bricks.
“I had to come to Phnom Penh for work because my families’ land was flooded and we could not farm. For seasonal work, it is not hard, and the living isn’t so bad,” she said.
Teth Peng, construction manager of Borey New World, said that in general borey developments paid less due to the relatively few skills needed to obtain employment and the lower risk of injury involved, adding that Borey New World along National Road 4 currently employs 500 construction workers who live temporarily in the unfinished buildings.
Peng said, although it is sometimes difficult to maintain a consistent workforce, finding low skilled workers to fill demand relies on having a network of employees.
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