SRP MPs Sam Rainsy and Son Chhay leading a group of demonstrating factory workers on this 02 May 2008 photo (Photo: SRP)Friday, 16 May 2008
Written by Kay Kimsong and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
The Phnom Penh Post
The leaders of the country’s three main political parties all went to the workers on May Day this year, appealing to garment factory employees and dockworkers alike for their ballot.
“If you like my leadership, vote for the CPP,” Prime Minister Hun Sen told hundreds of workers gathered at the Sihanoukville port, promising job security if his ruling Cambodian People’s Party was returned to power and calling on factory owners in the country’s strike-prone garment sector to treat their workers like “partners for life.”
Elsewhere, opposition politicians with the Sam Rainsy, Human Rights and Norodom Ranariddh parties were touting higher wages and labor rights in exchange for support in what many observers say will be a one-sided election favoring the CPP.
But despite being the clear favorites, Hun Sen’s embrace of the working classes signals a change in political strategy and marks the rise of industrial workers as a powerful constituent, observers say.
“This is the first time they’ve done this – they see opportunity in the growing number of workers. Before their numbers were small and the workers did not attract the attention of the political parties,” said Hang Puthea, executive director of the Cambodian election monitor Nicfec.
“It is important for the parties to attract workers because their numbers have increased by so much,” he told the Post.
“Each party believes that if they can attract those workers, the parents of those workers who live in the countryside and their friends will also vote for that party,” he added.
A simple calculation reveals exactly how big the worker vote could be: the garment sector alone employs an estimated 350,000 people, each supporting family at home that could multiply the total voter strength by three, five or even ten times, depending on the size of each employee’s family and circle of friends.
Some 8.1 million voters have been registered so far.
The total number of industrial workers is thought to be more than 500,000, monitors say.
“If 50,000 votes can win a seat in parliament, then half a million votes will swing 10 seats,” Puthea said.
That is no small number for Cambodia’s opposition trying to claw back some power from the CPP, which looks set to be able to form a government on its own this year, shedding a coalition government agreement that has been in place since the early 1990s.
All three minor parties are trading on Cambodia’s rising cost of living to give them the leverage they need to swing the workers’ vote.
Double-digit inflation has hurt most the country’s urban workers who during the past year have found themselves priced out of many staple goods.
Aside from promised wage hikes, the opposition has vowed to end pricing monopolies over fuel and curb living costs.
“If you vote for the CPP, you will get only one sarong, but if you vote for Sam Rainsy you will get another $20 [wage] increase,” Sam Rainsy, leader of his self-named party, told some 3,000 garment workers gathered at his party’s headquarters in Phnom Penh on International Labor Day.
Meanwhile, Norodom Ranariddh’s party spokesman Muth Chantha reminded workers that the prince, who remains in exile amid a host of legal problems, attracted investment to Cambodia, creating jobs.
All the pre-election wooing, however, has done nothing to convince labor activists that party leaders have their interests at heart.
Chea Mony, who took over the reins of Cambodia’s largest labor group, the Free Trade Union, in 2004, told the Post that “political parties have been cheating workers since 1993.”
“Every song they sing is sweet,” he said, urging workers not to be lured into a false sense of hope by the rhetoric.
“Consider each party’s policy platform on labor issues before deciding which one to support in the elections,” he said.
Nicfec’s Puthea also said trying to win the workers’ vote was a bit of shrewd international spin-making on the part of the parties.
“If any party can convince the workers to vote for them, it shows that the party supports international labor rights and raises its profile” outside of Cambodia,” he said.
“If you like my leadership, vote for the CPP,” Prime Minister Hun Sen told hundreds of workers gathered at the Sihanoukville port, promising job security if his ruling Cambodian People’s Party was returned to power and calling on factory owners in the country’s strike-prone garment sector to treat their workers like “partners for life.”
Elsewhere, opposition politicians with the Sam Rainsy, Human Rights and Norodom Ranariddh parties were touting higher wages and labor rights in exchange for support in what many observers say will be a one-sided election favoring the CPP.
But despite being the clear favorites, Hun Sen’s embrace of the working classes signals a change in political strategy and marks the rise of industrial workers as a powerful constituent, observers say.
“This is the first time they’ve done this – they see opportunity in the growing number of workers. Before their numbers were small and the workers did not attract the attention of the political parties,” said Hang Puthea, executive director of the Cambodian election monitor Nicfec.
“It is important for the parties to attract workers because their numbers have increased by so much,” he told the Post.
“Each party believes that if they can attract those workers, the parents of those workers who live in the countryside and their friends will also vote for that party,” he added.
A simple calculation reveals exactly how big the worker vote could be: the garment sector alone employs an estimated 350,000 people, each supporting family at home that could multiply the total voter strength by three, five or even ten times, depending on the size of each employee’s family and circle of friends.
Some 8.1 million voters have been registered so far.
The total number of industrial workers is thought to be more than 500,000, monitors say.
“If 50,000 votes can win a seat in parliament, then half a million votes will swing 10 seats,” Puthea said.
That is no small number for Cambodia’s opposition trying to claw back some power from the CPP, which looks set to be able to form a government on its own this year, shedding a coalition government agreement that has been in place since the early 1990s.
All three minor parties are trading on Cambodia’s rising cost of living to give them the leverage they need to swing the workers’ vote.
Double-digit inflation has hurt most the country’s urban workers who during the past year have found themselves priced out of many staple goods.
Aside from promised wage hikes, the opposition has vowed to end pricing monopolies over fuel and curb living costs.
“If you vote for the CPP, you will get only one sarong, but if you vote for Sam Rainsy you will get another $20 [wage] increase,” Sam Rainsy, leader of his self-named party, told some 3,000 garment workers gathered at his party’s headquarters in Phnom Penh on International Labor Day.
Meanwhile, Norodom Ranariddh’s party spokesman Muth Chantha reminded workers that the prince, who remains in exile amid a host of legal problems, attracted investment to Cambodia, creating jobs.
All the pre-election wooing, however, has done nothing to convince labor activists that party leaders have their interests at heart.
Chea Mony, who took over the reins of Cambodia’s largest labor group, the Free Trade Union, in 2004, told the Post that “political parties have been cheating workers since 1993.”
“Every song they sing is sweet,” he said, urging workers not to be lured into a false sense of hope by the rhetoric.
“Consider each party’s policy platform on labor issues before deciding which one to support in the elections,” he said.
Nicfec’s Puthea also said trying to win the workers’ vote was a bit of shrewd international spin-making on the part of the parties.
“If any party can convince the workers to vote for them, it shows that the party supports international labor rights and raises its profile” outside of Cambodia,” he said.
6 comments:
Throughout the world history there are always poor people and rich people! And most leaders in the world would like to promise to their population that they would like to bring change which bring a better life for all people both the poor and the rich but many times once the so called "leader" take power and soon to follow are the power and the money go hand in hand which will corrupted any leader and combine that with family tie, cronyism, and special interest and the result is nothing can be changed and especially the poor will continue to suffer!
As far as I am concerned for the labor union to exist in Cambodia is very important because if the Cambodian government and the factory owners respect the right of the workers and willing to pay the workers proper wage and soon to follow is the new creation of the middle class in Cambodia which will bring many positive change to Cambodia!
If for any reason if the worker right is not respected and deny the proper wage for the workers and soon to follow is the poor will become poorer and the rich will become richer which will lead to more instability within Cambodian society!
What Khmer politician need to do is unite. Though it is too late to unite. It is not too late to endorse. Pick one leadership and everyone drop their snarl of greed and fight the CPP together. Save Cambodia from impunity, lawlessness, illegal immigrants, and bad business
I agree with 5:04 p.m.
The poor get poorer and the rich get richer is the CPP policy of running the country. The big ones win... kind of animal-like policy.
Every song they sing is sweet,” he said, urging workers not to be lured into a false sense of hope by the rhetoric.
“Consider each party’s policy platform on labor issues before deciding which one to support in the elections,” he said.
Seemed that relationship between the Unions and SRP is showing sign of falling apart, as they would out right endorse the party as they used to be in the past
IF political parties start seeing the important and potential of workers and working class family effect on election is really a good sign that democracy would be on the right track.
500,000 workers could be translated into +100,000 votes [if only 2 members in each family would vote for the same family], and is equivalent to 12% of registered and eligible voters [based on 8.1 moiilion]. 12% swing in either way will of course shake the foundation of either party [loss or gain more seats in N/A].
Now it is the right time to play there trump card.
Previous US6 pay increase might be a small number but Unions saw it a significant move in their favour.
as they would out right endorse the party as they used to be in the past
Correction: Would not out right endorse the party as they used in the past by going out on demostration or gathering with the party
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