In Floating Village, an Exodus From Barren Lake to Banana Plantation
Hundreds of fishing families in a Pursat floating village are escaping barren conditions on the Tonle Sap to take on new jobs elsewhere.
Tran Techseng Oct 20, 5:29 pm
Menu
Hundreds of fishing families in a Pursat floating village are escaping barren conditions on the Tonle Sap to take on new jobs elsewhere.
Amid a week-long strike by Phnom Penh sanitation workers, VOD speaks to several union members about the demands of the job, and why they remain committed to the hazardous work of keeping the capital clean.
Piles of garbage are growing across the city as more than 2,000 Phnom Penh trash collectors strike to secure severance guarantees ahead of a major restructuring of waste management operations by City Hall.
Banana workers in Stung Treng said people were getting sick in droves at the plantation, blaming chemicals sprayed by drones flying overhead, as well as cramped living quarters and a lack of clean water.
Street vendors of all stripes around Phnom Penh manufacturing districts say their small businesses are becoming nearly impossible to sustain, one of the many knock-on effects of a decline in the country’s garment industry amid the global pandemic.
Amid record-low water levels, Cham fishing families fear they will need to finally leave Phnom Penh behind, with local authorities threatening their eviction to make way for a private development, and a search for new shores nearby coming up empty.
As schools prepare to reopen in some remote provinces on Monday, Mondulkiri teachers say the past six months have been spent scrambling to maintain some education for their students, many of whom have no television or internet.
Staff at a Siem Reap cultural tourism complex negotiated with management and provincial labor officials on Tuesday, a worker representative said, a day after more than 40 employees protested outside the attraction calling for an end to salary cuts and a bargaining agreement.
![A woman holds a sign saying “The pain of the people is the pain of Samdech [Prime Minister Hun Sen]” as nightlife workers filed a petition to the premier’s cabinet asking for aid on June 25, 2020. (Hy Chhay/VOD)](https://vodenglish.news/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-06-25-nightlife-worker-petition-462x290.jpg)
Many nightlife industry workers — from bartenders to waitresses — have gone months without a stable salary, and some say they are discouraged by the lack of social welfare funding for their sector’s workers.
After a day of trying to speak to her factory’s HR manager over union members losing their jobs, Soy Sros posted her frustrations online. Two days later, police showed up at the factory and imprisoned her for almost two months. Her charge is pending.
VOD is an independent media outlet producing radio programs and disseminating information to the public via the Internet.
© 2019 VOD. All Rights Reserved.