Six unions announced they would boycott Tuesday’s meeting with the Labor Ministry where they were to discuss amendments to the Labor Law, a move that a ministry spokesperson said misunderstood economics and would have no impact.
Thousands of workers took to the streets in multiple protests this week over unpaid wages from suspended factories as well as grievances related to benefits, as the Labor Ministry issued a warning against one unionist alleging an illegal strike and a man was detained while photographing a rally.
The garment sector’s minimum wage will be increased to $192 starting next year, even as hundreds of factories have suspended operations and an estimated 150,000 workers lost their jobs.
Police have targeted seven unions and associations for a “survey” of employees and their documentation, though a police official said the project has been put on hold for now after investigating two of the groups.
Protests continued into Monday over the jailing of prominent labor leader Rong Chhun in relation to his comments on the alleged loss of Cambodian territory to Vietnam, while a border official disputed the unionist’s claims.
The Labor Ministry this week warned a labor leader and her union that it could be dissolved over her allegedly illegal incitement of workers to protest over a garment factory closure that left workers without contracts and compensation.
![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.
The leader of an informal workers’ union in Poipet City said excessive security forces were deployed throughout the city as a “threat” after his request to hold a demonstration over border crossing restrictions next week was denied.
About 100 fired garment workers have been guarding their closed factory in shifts since mid-January. They aim to ensure the owner does not sell equipment left inside and disappear with the money before paying workers what they are owed by the end of May.
Former employees of the shuttered Great Duke Hotel again protested in front of the building on Thursday, calling for awarded compensation from the Phnom Penh hotel’s owner or legal action from the Labor Ministry.
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.
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