Workers Camp Out at Shuttered Factory to Block Equipment Removal

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Workers from Canteran Apparel hold pictures of Prime Minister Hun Sen and King Norodom Sihamoni while protesting the factory closure on May 16, 2022. (Hy Chhay/VOD)
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A Phnom Penh factory shut down, fired all workers, failed to pay compensation, and began moving valuable equipment to another factory nearby, workers allege.

More than 300 of the fired workers began protesting outside the second still-operational factory on Monday, as they entered their second week of taking turns camping overnight outside the old one to prevent the owner from removing more assets without fulfilling his obligations.

Canteran Apparel, in Pur Senchey district, began to close down earlier this year, leading to protests from workers on Veng Sreng Blvd. over missing compensation. Workers alleged in April that the factory owner had removed some equipment over the Khmer New Year holiday against his promises. Out of around 1,000 fired workers, about 300 remain protesting.

On Monday, Seng Sopha, 18, said the workers had moved their protest from Canteran to nearby Quality Textiles, believing they shared the same owner. The workers knew the two factories had previously exchanged equipment, Sopha said.

The Commerce Ministry lists different directors for the two companies.

Workers walk into the gate at Canteran Apparel in Phnom Penh’s Pur Senchey district on May 16, 2022. (Hy Chhay/VOD)
A worker sleeps in front of a photo of Prime Minister Hun Sen during a campout protest at Canteran Apparel on May 16, 2022. (Hy Chhay/VOD)
A worker sleeps in front of a photo of Prime Minister Hun Sen during a campout protest at Canteran Apparel on May 16, 2022. (Hy Chhay/VOD)

One 40-year-old worker said she couldn’t accept Canteran refusing to pay up. “I worked every day for my children’s studies and to pay back microfinance loans. Now the factory is shut down. How can I pay them?”

The workers claimed that a factory administrator had recently moved from Canteran to Quality Textiles, but the administrator could not be reached for comment. Pur Senchey district governor Hem Darith also could not be reached on Monday.

Suth Cheth, from the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, said Canteran had the obligation to pay workers on five points of compensation due to its closure without notice.

The Labor Ministry’s deputy director of disputes resolution, Vong Sovann, said the ministry had not received a complaint from the workers. If it did, it would assess the case for resolution and potentially send it to the Arbitration Council or the courts, he said.

Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia​ secretary-general Ken Loo said he didn’t know the details. “I don’t understand. Every time a factory is shut down, journalists call GMAC. We don’t know. We don’t own them.”

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