Workers who were told to isolate at home as a Covid-19 precaution said they would accept orders to take time off. But with more garment factories suspending production due to reduced orders, some workers worry their leave will be extended indefinitely.
The Labor Ministry on Friday ordered workers who traveled to the provinces during the Khmer New Year holiday this week to isolate themselves for 14 days before returning to work in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the labor force.
For indebted garment workers who have been suspended from work due to coronavirus disruptions, money owed to microfinance institutions is a more immediate threat than Covid-19, leading some to consider selling assets before they’re repossessed.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said garment workers who are suspended due to Covid-19 disruptions would receive an even smaller partial salary than he originally announced, while also postponing the Khmer New Year holiday and claiming that the “safest place” amid the pandemic was at work.
Nearly 1,000 garment workers protested outside a Phnom Penh factory on Wednesday after the owner failed to pay their regular wages, which the company said was due to declining payments from buyers during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
A labor union representing garment factory workers on Tuesday demanded authorities find five masked men who attacked a local union officer in Phnom Penh, leaving him bloodied and in need of stitches.
Garment workers say they’re worried they could lose their jobs if companies are forced to pay tariffs to export clothes and other goods to Europe, one of Cambodia’s largest export markets.
Eliminating extra pay for night shifts under proposed Labor Law amendments will boost investment in the country, Labor Minister Ith Sam Heng said at a consultation meeting with unions and employers on Thursday.
More than 1,000 striking NagaWorld workers were poised to return to their jobs on Saturday after striking a deal to reinstate their union representative and receive higher wages.
Officials from the national down to the local level should face an investigation into possible collusion and noncompliance in issuing and enforcing building permits, labor groups urged in a press conference on Wednesday.
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