Pseng-Pseng
The arithmetic of Greed
“[I hope] this year that the
buyer continues to place the same quantity of orders – which I doubt. In
reality they will not do that; we will expect 20 to 30 per cent losses of
orders. We might expect some buyers to reduce prices because they can say, ‘I
take the risk in a place like Cambodia’, because it is a country of risk –
which is happening.”
“The intervention of
police to secure law and order is appropriate. There must [be] collateral
damage, ok, so we have to expect that.”
Van Sou Ieng, president of GMAC (the Garment Manufacturers
Association in Cambodia), 7 January, 2014
So, according
to Van Sou Ieng, garment factories lost out on some $200 million in profits
during the 50 days of industrial upheavals. If he is not lying, he has just
forgone $200 million profit to save $79 million in labour cost. It seems GMAC
may just be excellent in running a laughing academy.
From some of the industry financials Van Sou Ieng has disclosed, without the loss of the 50 production days, the annualised industry profit would be about $1,460 million, which is approximately 26% of sales.
If GMAC agreed to double the monthly wage
to $160 as the workers demand, the extra cost to the whole industry during
those 50 days would be about $79 million, assuming that the industry employs a
total of 600,000 workers. This means the garment factories would still make
$1,381 million – a still handsome 25% of the total sales. Their future profit could be more as the $160 minimum wage
would keep their workers happy, healthy, and motivated. Any decent management
and school will say nothing can improve profitability like happy, healthy, and
motivated workers.
Hence, it
seems the tenacious greed – or it may simply be an uncontrollable stupidity – that
drives GMAC to shoot themselves in the foot. Now they are facing an unnecessary
dark prospect, in addition to the loss of $200 million profit: increased costs
in production and delivery catch up, significant loss of orders, future business
uncertainty and risks in the eyes of buyers, and damage to reputation of Cambodian
garment workers. They become too blind to see the collateral damage done to their
industry profit resulting from the barbaric treatment of their workers who have
brought them so much profit year in and year out.
Then again,
it may just be a display of awesome power of those to whom money is no object.
Ung Bun Ang
8i14
Then again, it may just be a clever act of [economic] subversion by Vietnam...who knows?
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, everybody [even a Khmer kid] now knows that Hun Sen does not lead nor control Cambodia, but Hanoi [Vietnam] does, agreed?
ReplyDeleteMR IENG Cambodian workers are not your fucken slave.They asked 160 dollars a month just for survival. In the west people work in the strawberry farm earn 100 to 150 dollars a day.
ReplyDeleteUBA nice post. Van Sou Ieng is obviously either bad at math, or bad at lying, but probably likely both. He did speak his mind though for who he really is with his callous "There must [be] collateral damage, ok, so we have to expect that".
ReplyDeletethe Unknown rambler.
Thanks.
Delete$160 per month wage per employee x 600,000 workers= $96,000,000 total cost to GMAC.
ReplyDeleteInstead of making the loss of $200,000,000 if GMAC grant the wages increase from $80 to $160 per month will would cost GMAC $48,000,000 which mean $152,000,000 GMAC would have made in profits if employers grant their employees wages increase as demands,
So killing or injuring the 600,000 workers who have the skills to perform the works. Who will be performing the works and deliver to death-line, CPP MPs or their families?
There are too many stupid and dumb CPP MPs and members holding a positions that they are not capable of doing basic math so incompentent leader like Hun Sen and Van Sou Ieng need to step do and allow the younger University grad to take in and do a better job.
ទស្សនះ នឹង យោបល់ របស់លោក អ៊ុងប៊ុនអាង [ផ្សេងផ្សេង] តាមវិស័យនឹងចំណុចសេដ្ធកិច្ច ប្រាកដជាសមរម្យណាស់។ ក៏ប៉ុន្តែ យើងអចសួរថា តើគេអាចវែកញែកឫក៏ឲ្យយោល់បែបណាដែរ បើសឹនជា បញ្ហាដដែលនេះ ត្រូវគេសួរឫក៏ឲ្យដោះស្រាយតាមវិស័យនឹងចំណុចនយោបាយវិញនោះ?
ReplyDeleteThanks. Yes, perhaps you may like to give a political perspective into the issue.
DeleteWell thought out article, Mr. UBA. I was thinking about the same thing. Thanks for a very logical thought.
ReplyDeleteCC
Thanks.
DeleteMr. BA Ung,
ReplyDelete"Pséng-Pséng" is going to be my favorite if not the only stuff I am interested in here on T2P blog!
Congrats for such a wonderful writing skill and techniques that have evidently done justice for "Pseng Pseng" of the Sihanouk's era!!!
Although my French is limited, and as I've learned that the original "Pséng-Pséng" had some characters of its own, would you be able to throw some French in here and there once in a while too, if you don't mind and if it's all possible, please? Thanks a million in advance.
One big fan of "Pséng-Pséng"
Thanks. I am afraid you've got me there. My French would be as good as the Google translation. My sister who is very fluent in French laughs her head off when she reads my French Google translation. And I thought I was clever.
DeleteLOL with you, Mr. BA Ung. But wouldn't it be even perfect to acquire such an assistance on an as-needed basis then? Merci mille fois et à très vite!
DeleteCordialement,