A NagaWorld union representative said the Arbitration Council refused to adjudicate on the validity of the mega casino’s decision to layoff more than 1,300 workers, with a labor advocate saying the council wants a labor inspection procedure to decide the matter.
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.
In a move a labor group said was unprecedented, NagaWorld is calling on governmental labor inspectors to authorize the dismissal of a group of union leaders as part of the casino’s mass layoffs, overriding the legal protections unionists enjoy unless they have committed serious offenses, a workers’ representative said.
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.
NagaWorld union representatives met with the Labor Ministry on Monday as the workers accuse the Phnom Penh casino of trying to destroy the union through mass layoffs targeting top labor leaders and those active in support.
Seven NagaWorld union representatives submitted a petition with 2,049 thumbprints — from employees both employed and newly jobless — to the Labor Ministry on Tuesday, contesting NagaWorld’s decision to lay off more than 15 percent of its staff.
Casino workers from NagaWorld are collecting thumbprints to file a complaint with the Labor Ministry after the gambling behemoth began the process of laying off more than 1,000 workers last week, allegedly targeting union leaders and members.
Senior NagaWorld union leaders all received dismissal notices amid the casino’s plan to lay off more than 1,000 employees, a union official said, in what some labor and civil society observers labeled an attempt to eliminate the active union from the workplace.
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.
NagaWorld has begun its proposed layoffs of 1,329 total workers, according to the casino’s union, which also alleges that long-serving union members are bearing the brunt of the cutbacks.
Salt fields on lucrative Kampot coastland are being promised the backing of a new governmental working group to aid in competition against Thai and Vietnamese imports, but salt farmers are skeptical.
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