Two trash collectors have died and another seriously injured in a traffic incident as workers and family spoke of Phnom Penh’s new waste management companies putting them on unfamiliar shifts, not providing equipment and lacking union representation.
Following years of complaints about poor service, Cintri was put under state management in 2019, and as of July its work split up among three companies. Promises to keep all employees on the payroll were broken when 1,176 workers were terminated as of July 1.
A trash collectors union said its members could be facing unemployment as Phnom Penh began its new collection regime on Thursday, splitting former sole-operator Cintri’s jurisdiction into three areas.
Singaporean and Chinese companies will handle two of three trash collection zones in Phnom Penh under the city’s long-awaited restructuring of waste management, while Cintri will continue to service central and southern city areas, company representatives said.
More than 2,000 sanitation workers in Phnom Penh ended their strike and returned to work on Wednesday afternoon after City Hall and their employer promised to pay them as demanded in February.
Garbage collection workers remain on strike despite a union urging them to accept a deal from City Hall, with the workers saying they want to see payments not promises.
On the front lines of Cambodia’s fight against Covid-19, the five-man team responsible for disposing of all of Phnom Penh’s medical waste says they are poorly equipped, uninsured and at risk of infection, but few recognize the challenges they face.
A canal near Phnom Penh’s Tuol Sangkae Thom market has been filling up with trash over the past year, with residents saying they are struggling
About 10,000 tons of trash is produced every day from houses and factories around Cambodia, 90 percent of it going unrecycled, said presenters at a Waste Summit on Thursday in Phnom Penh.
Environment Ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra on Monday reiterated earlier government statements that 83 shipping containers packed with plastic refuse and left at the Sihanoukville port since last year came from the U.S. and Canada — despite Canada saying on Friday that the containers weren’t theirs.
A 16-year-old son of a jailed CNRP official was denied bail by the Appeal Court following his arrest in June for incitement and insulting public officials over his digital activities.
‘The Beginning of the End’: Remembering the Murder… Jul 10, 12:00 am 
US Foreign Affairs Committee Reintroduces Cambodia… Jul 29, 10:33 am 
Curfew, Ban on Gatherings With Alcohol Ordered… Jul 29, 2:03 pm 
Reporter Arrested for Incitement in Relation to… Jul 15, 7:10 pm 
As Talks Fail, Naga Workers Receive Termination… Jul 7, 4:33 pm 
VOD is a local independent media outlet producing radio programs and disseminating information to the public via the Internet.
© 2019 VOD. All Rights Reserved.
