Around 900 workers at a Phnom Penh factory said the owner won’t let them resume work after a two-month suspension and alleged most of the suspended workers support a pro-worker union.
Another NagaWorld worker was questioned by a Phnom Penh court on Tuesday in a case filed by the casino corporation, where very little has been made public about the events leading to the charges.
More than 180 apparently government-leaning unions have accused two pro-worker labor rights groups of sowing dissent among unions to split them and affect solidarity in the workers’ movement.
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld convictions against four human rights officials and an election body staffer — who previously worked at the same rights group — in a case related to a love scandal involving opposition leader Kem Sokha.
Both Cambodian and foreign workers must be allowed to leave their workplaces after work, the Labor Ministry clarified during a press conference on Wednesday, while deflecting a question about the nature of global scams being perpetrated out of Cambodia.
The Cambodian government has increased the minimum wage for the garment and footwear sector by $6, to $200, far below the $19 increase proposed by unions.
The Candlelight Party is supporting unions’ requests to increase the minimum wage to $215, and proposed the wage increase to $300 by 2024.
Some 320 Phnom Penh workers who have been protesting and camping outside their shuttered garment factory for months have taken partial compensation as arranged by the Labor Ministry, but are keeping up their labor action saying they want the remainder paid out.
The NagaWorld protests again turned violent as workers tried to move police barricades blocking them from getting to the casino complex, with one worker left with a bloody nose after the tussle.
A prominent union leader has been warned for allegedly forcing NagaWorld casino workers to continue their protests, with the Labor Ministry letter threatening “punishment” if she continued her “illegal activities.”
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