I just don’t understand why Cambodians get paid way lower than expats for the same job. Firstly, I assumed that it was very unfair. However, I decided to the put the question out there and tried to understand from a different angles I received from the responses.
My question was: Am I being unreasonable if I demand to be paid equally as expats for the same amount of works I do?
Here are a few interesting responses I received:
Most migrants we have same salaries as Khmer but we pay everything more expensive a cause of reasonings as yours.
Personally I would prefer expats to be paid the same as locals. More disposable budget, more jobs, more training, more results.
If you paid expats the same as locals here, you wouldn’t have any expats.
I talked to people who said equal pay is the key and I talked to people who said it is not possible. I was also being asked what do I think create the wages difference between the locals and expats?
I am told for jobs in international NGOs or embassies, the wage needs to be competitive as the wage back home; otherwise, there wouldn’t be anyone wanting to work in Cambodia at all. Point taken, so, I assume that this also happen in every other countries. That’s fine.
How about jobs outside of those two categories? I still see a big gap between salaries. I personally experienced it, and the difference is at least 100% of the wage for the same position. Then, another question came up: do we have the same level of skills and experience?
So, it seems like one question leads to another question and this topic has become a giant puzzles.
Considering all points I’ve heard so far, here’s what I think:
International NGOs and embassies have different salary ranges. So, don’t even bother questioning the difference in wages between the international and local staff. Point well taken. Outside these two categories of workplace, it’s all up to experiences and skills. Thus, it’s worth questioning. If the two people are doing the same jobs with the same amount of years of experience and get paid differently, something is not right.
For an argument saying that expats get paid more because they spend more here, I disagree. It’s a choice of lifestyle you choose and, to live expensively or cheaply here is entirely up to you. The purchasing power here is way lower than back home for expats. If you say that you spend more, I can also say that. People hire me because I am different. They say I can think differently from other Cambodians, but what they didn’t take into account is I also choose to live a different lifestyle than other Cambodians. My expat friends and colleagues find it easier to talk to me because I seem to understand them well. However, I am being paid as locals because obviously, I couldn’t choose where I was born.
To sum up, I just want to open a discussion and at least ask the question that many of my Cambodian peers don’t dare to ask or never thought of asking. To me, it is really frustrating seeing this happen and no one seems to take initiative of finding out why. Even though there is no solid answer to my question, it’s worth asking anyway rather than stay silent and accept whatever is given.
Can't Stand 
If you are talking about your job and it involves competence in English then the answer should be obvious! Likewise if you are comparing Cambodian qualifications with the qualifications a lot of expats will have
You raise an interesting question. True, your English is not perfect. The same is true, though, of plenty of Brits and Americans with PhDs.
My best guess is that this is a signaling problem. The truth is that almost all Cambodians are not as good at knowledge-intensive work than almost all Westerners.
Those who are as good, or better, have to be super-extremely good to overcome the signal that is sent by being Cambodian. Basically, the bad ones bring down the wages of the good ones.
Hi!
This is a very good and serious question, that is maybe about time to ask here in Cambodia, and that was certainly answered before in other countries where the gap between expats and locals salaries has been indubitably reduced.
Debate is endless, but there are much more questions and answers that could be raised.
I will not pretend to cover all of them, so just to share a quick point of view I wouls say that significant different salaries for the same responsabilities and results is though difficult to understand and assume, but that’s not what I mostly see here.
Nice article. 🙂
The economics of wages suggests that people will end up being paid roughly the level of their marginal productivity. This isn’t a perfect rule… but over the medium term it is roughly accurate.
If a firm paid more than marginal productivity, then they would lose money from that staff member, and so would have an incentive to fire them. For example, if somebody was being paid $20/day but they brought $15/day benefit to a firm… then the firm would be losing $5/day.
If a firm is paying less than marginal productivity, then the firm is making a profit… but then there is an incentive for another firm to make a better offer to the employee. For example, if somebody was being paid $20/day but they create $30/day benefit then the firm is making $10/day profit. But then another firm has an incentive to pay $21/day (making $9/day profit) and then another firm has an incentive to pay $22/day (making $8/day profit) etc, etc, until the wage approaches the level of marginal productivity.
To argue against this, you need to make the case that most firms don’t want to make money. You would need to argue that firms want to overpay foreigners so that they can lose money (not likely) or they refuse to hire Cambodians even though employing them will help them make money (also not likely).
Of course, life is generally messier than theory and in the short term there is always a lot of noise in any market (including the labour market), but in the long run the only way to sustain an irrational wage gap is if some firms are happy to lose money. I doubt that most Cambodian firms are so racist that they are willing to lose money just so that they can avoid hiring Cambodians.
(This story gets more confusing again when we factor in various transaction costs and opportunity costs… but that’s a story for another day.)
I would argue that employees are not paid based on the level of their marginal productivity, but rather, are paid the bare minimum their employers can get away with paying them and keeping them employed.
Right. That’s the truth everywhere in the world and has been since the 1700’s. Bosses pay the minimum they can because that’s how they maximize their profits. The minimum could be just enough for the workers to survive and produce more baby workers (think garment workers) or it can be the minimum that workers will stand for (think expats that have to relocate and give up better living conditions to come here).
Wages, like any market, are determined by demand and supply. The reason why expats are paid more is because there is no supply of them willing to accept a lower pay to move to Cambodia to work while employers see a “perceived value” in hiring a foreigner. Conversely, the reason why you are paid so low is that your peers will work for less.
I think there is a perception that Cambodian qualifications “don’t count as much” as Western qualifications. For example, if you have a degree from a Cambodian university, I think it’s perceived to be “worth” less than a degree from a Western university. Maybe it’s due to the lingering effects of the Khmer Rouge and the targeting of intellectuals during that regime. In many instances, unfortunately, there is some kind of perception that western staff will be more “competent,” able to work faster, more well-trained, etc. I’m not saying it’s true, but I do think the stereotype exists. In my earlier days of living in Cambodia, I heard a number of expats complaining their Khmer colleagues were lazy and didn’t want to do anything, which I think is untrue and probably a result of cultural differences. But I’m guessing this factors into the wage gap.
I do think in many cases, the comments above are true — if you paid western staff the same as Cambodians, they would never come to work. But I think the low salary for Cambodians is a mix of the above perception and the fact that companies can get away with it — it’s “normal,” and they buy into that untrue “Cambodians don’t have to spend as much.” And, if you can get away with paying your workers such a low salary, I think many companies take advantage of that.
In any case it’s a necessary discussion to have and good on you for bringing it up.
Why is this written in English? Who is it targeted at? Do you think expats will read this, feel guilty and then ask for their pay to be lowered to your level? Would that be good even if it was realistic?
You should be writing in Khmer and appealing to your fellow Khmer workers to speak up, protest and even strike to demand equal wages.
Why do you think Westerners have higher wages today? Do you think they blogged about low pay in a different language?
No. We fought for better wages by building unions, protesting, do work slow downs, sit ins and more. We forced the bosses to pay us a fair share. No one will give you anything for free.
Greed seems to always trump ideology. Foreign aid during Cambodia’s all too brief postcolonial independence was primarily focused on connecting the port of Khom Phong Saum to Phnom Penh for upper class consumer purposes. The 85%-90% of “lower class” Khmer were not unaware of this reality. Thus, adding fuel to Mr. Saloth Sar’s point-of-view.
Beware! The Khmer Rouge of yesteryear may be lurking in the deep dark crevices of the Khmer Riche ethos of today. Being seduced by greed via an economic Stockholm Syndrome will inevitably bring the wrath of yet another brutal human episode. The seven women murdered in December of 2013 while protesting in Phnom Penh for a livable wage ($160 per month) in the sweatshops is but one mere example.
Take heart dear reader, Cambodia has no monopoly on such self destructiveness. I’m from Mississippi, the least livable state in the USA according to the BBC. We also claim the dubious honor of being the most corrupt (Fortune 500 magazine 2015)…and the most Christian I should add.
Semper Fi
Ok, so what kind of work are we talking about that you are competing with foreigners for? Is it writing, reporting or blogging in English? Because as much as you may think otherwise – your English skills (at least writing) are weak – very, very far from the skills any native speaker would have. Stop trying to compete with expats – it’s a losing battle that is not worth you fighting. See how you can be the best and improve the best as who you are- a Khmer writer. Take what makes you unique and build on that – don’t try and be something you are not. You sound bitter to me – and this is the number one thing that will keep you from progressing in your career and getting higher wages. No one wants to hire someone with a chip on their shoulder.