Fines against violation of the certain and defined provisions of the labor laws are set in multiple of the base daily wage. The base daily wage is the minimum wage determined by a Prakas (proclamation) jointly issued by the Ministry in charge of labor and the Ministry of Justice. (Article 360 of the Labor Law)
The base daily wage was fixed to 8,000 Khmer Riels (approximately 2$) for the first time by Joint Prakas No. 86 dated 20 March 1997. According to this Prakas, the base daily wage is the limit for calculating fines in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 16 of the Labor Law. (Clause 2)
The above amount of base daily wage was revised by Joint Prakas No. 377 dated 14 September 2015 on the revision of base daily wage. Clause 1 of this Joint Prakas stipulates that the base daily wage is revised from 8,000 Khmer Riels (approximately 2$) to 40,000 Khmer Riels (approximately 10$). Clause 2 of this Joint Prakas reaffirms that the revised base daily wage is the limit for calculating fines in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 16 of the Labor Law.
Pursuant to Article 359 of the Labor Law of Cambodia, those who violate the provisions of Chapter 16 of the Labor Law are subject to fines or imprisonment or to both. Fines must be imposed by the Labor Inspector or the Labor Controller. Article 360 of the Labor Law states that a fine is defined as a multiple of the base daily wage.
For example, Article 361 stipulates that those who violate of Article 22 of the Labor Law (the obligation of the employer with at least eight workers to establish internal regulations) are punished by a fine of 10 to 30 days of the base daily wage.
According to No. 8 of the Annex Table attached to Joint Pakas (Proclamation) No. 659 dated 06 June 2016 on Penalties against Violators of the Labor Law, employer who violates Article 22 of the Labor Law will be subject to the fine imposed by the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training 21 days of base daily wage which is equal to 840,000 Khmer Riels (21 days x 40,000 Khmer Riels). In addition, the fine in accordance with the decision of the tribunal is from 10 days to 30 days of base daily wage which is from 400,000 Riels (10 days x 40,000 Khmer Riels) to 1,200,000 Khmer Riels (30 days x 40,000 Riel).
In conclusion, daily base wage is not wage provided to the worker, but is a kind of measure to calculate the fines against those who violates the Labor Law.