NagaWorld Union in Midst of Elections, Seeing Low Turnout
Only about 400 of an estimated 2,000 members of the embattled union have so far voted five days into a seven-day leadership election.
Only about 400 of an estimated 2,000 members of the embattled union have so far voted five days into a seven-day leadership election.
Another round of talks for the NagaWorld casino labor dispute on Wednesday saw the company and union still stuck in opposing positions.
Breaking its silence, NagaCorp released a statement on Sunday and claimed that a workers’ strike in Phnom Penh, which has lasted three days, would not affect the casino’s operations.
NagaCorp, the Hong Kong-listed parent company of Phnom Penh’s exclusive-operating casino NagaWorld, reported losses for the first time since the company was publicly listed, amid the pandemic and an ongoing labor dispute with more than 300 laid-off employees.
Mondulkiri’s plan to build a special economic zone with casinos and warehouses in an area one official described as filled with evergreen forest has yet to progress after six months, as provincial leaders say they are still waiting for a response from the central government.
Poipet city’s casino industry has been shuttered since late April as they became Covid-19 hotspots, and it’s been more than three months of scraping by for many of the thousands of casino workers who found themselves out of work.
Some NagaWorld casino workers who rejected voluntary termination packages — arguing that the company’s dismissals illegally targeted union activists — have now been fired and had thousands of dollars wired to their accounts.
Kampot has imposed a province-wide curfew and ban on alcohol sales after more than 200 Covid-19 cases were found at a casino along the Vietnamese border, with an official saying there were fears that visitors who were in potential contact had spread across the province.
NagaWorld workers are being offered over $1,000 in compensation for layoffs, they said, with some accepting due to financial difficulties and others rejecting the offer saying they want to stand in solidarity with their union.
Casino staff in Poipet say workers in the sector get little support or protection from Covid-19, and amid the lockdown living is getting tough.
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