Bonuses ‘won’t end strikes’

Strikers take a break during a protest outside the Conpress Holdings (Cambodia) garment factory in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photograph: Vireak Mai/Phnom Penh Post

Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Mom Kunthear
The Phnom Penh Post

A pay rise for the nation’s garment workers is imminent, but if recent strikes are anything to go by, the US$10 monthly increase from September 1 won’t be enough to stop them from walking off the job.

Central to the demands of strikers at four garment factories in Kampong Speu, Phnom Penh and Kandal provinces this week has been an increase in bonuses and allowances.

In all cases, those demands have exceeded next month’s approved wage increase and have led to unionists being sacked.

More than 500 workers at King First Industrial in Kandal province’s Ang Snuol district yesterday entered their third day of a strike triggered by the sacking of three unionists.

Sex charges roil Ocean factory

Poster demanding the firing of Faruk Ahmad (Posted on Facebook)

Police clash with striking factory workers employed by Ocean Garment Co Ltd during a protest in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photograph: Vireak Mai/Phnom Penh Post

Thursday, 23 August 2012
Mom Kunthear and Claire Knox
The Phnom Penh Post

“He heard that I needed money and asked me to go out and sleep with him for $20 a night. I told him I needed the money from my work, not sex”

More than 2,500 Ocean Garment factory workers jostled with about 100 military police in the capital’s Dangkor district yesterday in their second protest march over the alleged sexual harassment of four female employees.

More than half of the factory’s some 4,000 employees marched to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house with a petition, but were stopped about 100 metres away by military police brandishing shields and batons.

In an inter-governmental ministerial committee meeting on Tuesday, Ocean – which supplies retail chain the Gap – refused to meet the sole demand of the striking workers, to terminate the manager.

Yesterday, the women pressed criminal charges, after being on strike since August 11.

Court orders strikers back to work

Wednesday, 04 July 2012
Mom Kunthear
The Phnom Penh Post

The Kandal Provincial Court ordered thousands of striking garment employees back to work for the second time yesterday, but they will continue fighting until their demands are met, a union president said.

Workers at Ang Snuol district’s Tai Nan I, Tai Nan II and Camwell factories, which are owned by Tai Yang Enterprises, have been striking since June 25 to have their bonuses increased.

Yang Sophorn, the president of Cambodia Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU), said court officials visited yesterday’s strike to demand employees return to work.

“They ordered the workers, [Cambodian Confederation of Unions president] Rong Chhun and me to stop holding strikes and to go back to work, but we refused,” she said.

CCU threatens capital march

Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, speaks to striking workers outside the Tai Yang Enterprise Co factory in Kandal province yesterday. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Tuesday, 03 July 2012
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodian Confederation of Unions president Rong Chhun threatened yesterday to lead a march of more than 3,000 striking garment workers from Kandal province to the capital on Thursday if their employer refuses to meet their demands.

“[Workers] have already made commitments with me to march to Phnom Penh,” he said after a meeting with them at Tai Yang Enterprises’ factory in Ang Snuol district.

“We told them that we will help them as best we can.”

The workers have five demands they want their bosses to meet. These include an increase in travel and accommodation bonuses, baby-milk bonuses and holiday bonuses of up to $15 a month each.

The workers will walk 20 kilometres to the Ministry of Labour if these demands are not met by Thursday.

កម្មករវ៉ៃហ៊ុ​លធ្វើកូដកម្មនៅព្រឹកនេះ - Strike at the Wai Full Garment factory

រោងចក្រកាត់ដេរវ៉ៃហ៊ុល Wai Full Garment (Cambodia) Ltd. ស្តិតនៅភូមិ
ពងទឹក ឃុំដំណាក់អំពិល ស្រុកអង្គស្នួល ខេត្តកណ្តាល
មានកម្មករប្រមាណជា400នាក់ធ្វើកដកម្មទាមទារឲ្យតំណាងកម្មករបស់ពួកគេចួលធ្វើការវិញ
និងទាមទារលក្ខខណ្ឌការងារ៦ចំនុច។

ពត៌មានបន្ថែមសូមទំនាក់ទំនង
តំណាងកម្មករដែលក្រុមបញ្ឈប់ 097 47 48 777​ /​ 098 46 84 68
កម្មករ 097 31 83 376
មន្រ្តីអង្កេតការរបស់សហជីពសេរីកម្មករ 017 552 452

អរគុណ
-----------
Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC)
Social Justice is the Foundation of Peace


Address: House No.16A, Street 360, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kang 3,
Khan Chamkar Mon, Phnom Penh


Tel/Fax: +855 0 23 216 870
Mobile: +855 0 12 941 308
http://www.ftuw.org/ http://ftuwkc.webs.com/

Sri Lanka factory strikes to slow Cambodian garment industry

07 Jun , 2012 - Sri Lanka
Yarns and Fibers Exchange

A sharp increase in garment factory strikes this year has raised eyebrows among industry insiders, who say the disputes could lead to a decrease in year-on-year export growth.

The Arbitration Council, which hears work-related disputes such as factory strikes, saw claims nearly double during the first five months of the year compared with 2011, data from the council shows.

The strikes would slow the Kingdom’s garment manufacturing industry, Ken Loo, secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, said yesterday.

លោកចៅសង្កា​ត់ទួលសង្កែ​ជេរប្រមាថលើ​កម្មករ

សហជីពសេរីកម្មករ បានទទួល បណ្តឹង ពីកម្មការិនី មកថា បន្ទាប់​ពី កើតហឹង្សា រួចមក កម្មករ រោងចក្រ លីម ឡាញ​ ត្រូវបាន លោក​ ខេមមា ចៅសង្កាត់ ទួលសង្កែ បានជេប្រមាថ និងដៀល លើកម្មករថា ពួកមីកូនអត់ពូជ ពួកនាង ខ្មៅហើយ កុំឲ្យខ្មៅចិត្ត ទៀត។

ព័ត៌មានបន្ថែមសូមទំនាក់ទំនង
កម្មការិ​នី ភណ្ឌ 010 390 672 / 088 87 32 053

អរគុណ
សហជីពសេរីកម្មករ
--

Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC)

Social Justice is the Foundation of Peace

Address: House No.16A, Street 360, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kang 3,

Khan Chamkar Mon, Phnom Penh

Tel/Fax: +855 0 23 216 870

Mobile: +855 0 12 941 308

http://www.ftuw.org/ http://ftuwkc.webs.com/

SH protesters to keep striking

A security guard kicks a burning tyre during a protest by factory workers outside Ford Glory (Cambodia) Manufacturing Limited yesterday in Phnom Penh. Photo by Pha Lina

Garment workers stage a peaceful protest outside the SH International Company’s factory in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photo by Vireak Mai

Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Tep Nimol
The Phnom Penh Post

More than 700 workers at the SH International factory in the capital’s Po Sen Chey district have vowed to keep striking, despite the Ministry of Labour saying it could not help solve their dispute because their demands were “excessive”.

The workers protested again yesterday outside the Choam Chao factory, calling for two administration officials and two sewing line leaders to be sacked.

Lay Sokha, vice president of the Free Trade Union (FTU) at SH, said the workers also want a $10 transportation allowance, a $10 rental bonus, a $10 incentive bonus and for their basic salary to be increased to $70.

“The workers’ requests were not settled – they stood outside the factory waiting for the company to negotiate with them,” she said.

Strike at the Kwei yang garment factory

សេចក្តីជូនដំណឹង

នៅព្រឹកថ្ងៃទី 31 ខែធ្នូ ឆ្នាំ2011នេះ កម្មករ-កម្មការិនីនៃរោងចក្រកាត់ដេរ ឃ្វៃយ៉ាង ២០០ ទៅ 300 នាក់ កំពុង ធ្វើកូតកម្ម ទាមទារ ប្រាក់ សហការ ៥ដុល្លា ពីនិយោជក ដែលក្រុមហ៊ុន ធ្វើការ គាបសង្កត ទៅលើ ពួកគេ។

សូមទំនាក់ទំនង លោកថន ថុល 017 552 452 មន្រ្តី សហជីព សេរីកម្មករ
និងកម្មការិនី ម៉ុយ សំឡូត 068 436012 និង កម្មការិនី 077 380 547

អរគុណ
លីណា
--
Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC)
Social Justice is the Foundation of Peace


Address: House No.16A, Street 360, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kang 3,
Khan Chamkar Mon, Phnom Penh


Tel/Fax: +855 0 23 216 870
Mobile: +855 0 12 941 308
http://www.ftuw.org/ http://ftuwkc.webs.com/
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Unofficial translation from Khmer:

In the morning of 31 December 2011, 200 to 300 workers at the Kwei Yang garment factory held a strike to demand $5 in cooperation payment from the factory owners who are putting pressure on them.

Strike at Hong Va Garment factory

Thursday, December 15, 2011
Source: FTU-Cambodia

About thousand workers of Hong Va Garment are striking in company, they demand 3$ bonus that the company promise to give them, but this time company cannot practice what company said to workers.

More information, please contact Mr. Yan Rothkeo Pisey 078 548 120,

and worker in company 012 971 533

Thanks
Lina

Garment staff get pay, push for labour rights

Friday, 11 November 2011
Tep Nimol and Vincent MacIsaac
The Phnom Penh Post

Messenger Band - Chivit Kamakor (Factory Workers' Life)

Click here to download the song in MP3

Garment workers who went on strike over delayed payment of wages and other alleged violations of labour law on Tuesday morning were paid on Wednesday by management at the Chea Ieng garment factory in the capital’s Sen Sok district.

Factory employee Sun Sopheak said yesterday that negotiations would continue on 12 other points of contention tomorrow.

“If the negotiations fail, all workers will resume the strike,” she said, adding that they were merely attempting to ensure that the company followed the law.

Employees said they were paid the legal minimum wage of US$61 for 48 hours a week of work, or about 29 cents an hour.

Factory bows, but strike continues

Garment workers protest outside the Meroson Cambodia Co Ltd factory, in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, on Wednesday. Photo by: Pha Lina

Friday, 14 October 2011 12:03
Kim Yutthana
The Phnom Penh Post

Workers striking for a second day at a garment factory in suburban Phnom Penh succeeded yesterday in having one of their eight demands met, as Taiwanese-owned Meroson Cambodia Co Ltd agreed to reinstate three employees allegedly fired for joining a union, a union official said yesterday.

The agreement to reinstate the three workers followed an all-day meeting between company executives, workers’ representatives and officials from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, said Un Dara, vice-president of the Cambodian National Confederation for Labourers Protection.

However, the strike by about 500 of the 600 workers at the factory in Kouk Roka commune in Dangkor district will continue, he said, until the company agreed to the rest of the workers’ demands. These include paying overtime for work on Sundays, not forcing workers to work after 8:30pm, allowing sick leave, complying with legally required maternity benefits and ending timed toilet breaks.

Strikers used as ‘slave labour’

Garment workers protest yesterday morning outside the Taiwanese-owned Meroson Cambodia Co Ltd factory in Thlok Village, Kouk Roka Commune, in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district. (Photo by: Pha Lina)

Thursday, 13 October 2011
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
The Phnom Penh Post

About 500 of the 600 garment makers at Meroson Cambodia Co Ltd went on strike yesterday, accusing the Taiwanese-owned firm which exports T-shirts to North America of using them as “slave labour”.

“This Chinese factory has always violated Cambodian laws. It has also violated workers’ rights by forcing staff to work on public holidays and to work overtime,” said Chey Sovan, vice-president of the Cambodian National Confederation for Labourers’ Protection.

Chey Sovan said that the main reason for the strike at the factory in Kouk Roka commune in the capital’s Dangkor district, was the firing of three workers on October 3 who had been selected by the union to be its representatives on September 18.

Garment factory workers strike on 13 Sept 2010

Cambodian garment workers participate in a strike to demand a raise in their monthly salary from US $61 to $93 in front of a factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Sept. 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A Cambodian garment worker speaks on a loud speaker as she leads a strike in front of a factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Sept. 13, 2010. Hundreds of Cambodian garment workers Monday held a strike to demand their monthly salary raise to US 93 dollars from the current $61. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodian garment workers hold a strike to demand a raise in their monthly salary from US $61 to $93, in front of a factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Sept. 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Chhun Vy stands next to her colleague during a strike at the Chinese-owned Pine Great Cambodia Garment Co. Ltd. in Phnom Penh September 13, 2010. Cambodian labour activist Moeun Tola blames the Gap Inc, Nike Inc and other big Western brands for sinking Cambodian workers in low wages. Moeun Tola and thousands of Cambodian garment workers began a five-day walkout on Monday to demand better wages and benefits, a sign recent labour unrest in China may be spreading to factories elsewhere in Asia that supply the world with low-cost goods. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Ath Thun, president of Coalition of Cambodia Apparel Workers Democratic Union, speaks near a sign that reads "Solidarity for our wages" during a strike at the Chinese-owned Chung Fai Knitwear Fty. Ltd. in Phnom Penh September 13, 2010. Cambodian labour activist Moeun Tola blames the Gap Inc, Nike Inc and other big Western brands for sinking Cambodian workers in low wages. Moeun Tola and thousands of Cambodian garment workers began a five-day walkout on Monday to demand better wages and benefits, a sign recent labour unrest in China may be spreading to factories elsewhere in Asia that supply the world with low-cost goods. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Workers listen to their leader speak during a strike at the Chinese-owned Pine Great Cambodia Garment Co. Ltd. in Phnom Penh September 13, 2010. Cambodian labour activist Moeun Tola blames the Gap Inc, Nike Inc and other big Western brands for sinking Cambodian workers in low wages. Moeun Tola and thousands of Cambodian garment workers began a five-day walkout on Monday to demand better wages and benefits, a sign recent labour unrest in China may be spreading to factories elsewhere in Asia that supply the world with low-cost goods. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Ean Vichara (R) stands with her colleagues Hun Try (C) and Pov Nub during a strike at the Chinese-owned Pine Great Cambodia Garment Co. Ltd. in Phnom Penh September 13, 2010. Cambodian labour activist Moeun Tola blames the Gap Inc, Nike Inc and other big Western brands for sinking Cambodian workers in low wages. Moeun Tola and thousands of Cambodian garment workers began a five-day walkout on Monday to demand better wages and benefits, a sign recent labour unrest in China may be spreading to factories elsewhere in Asia that supply the world with low-cost goods. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Government to allow nation-wide strike

Thursday, 09 September 2010
Kim Samath
The Phnom Penh Post

Wage crisis hits point of no return

LABOUR leaders have pledged that a strike that could be the biggest Cambodia has seen in recent memory will be held peacefully and without public disturbance, amid questions about whether authorities will allow the work stoppage to proceed as planned.

Unionists claim to have collected thumbprints from 80,000 workers who have pledged to participate in the five-day strike, slated to begin on Monday, to protest against a July decision setting the minimum wage for garment workers at US$61 per month.

Protest leaders have requested that the monthly wage for Cambodia’s 345,000 garment and footwear workers be set at $93.

Ath Thun, head of the Cambodian Labour Confederation, said strikers would demonstrate at their factories rather than on the streets, and therefore posed no threat to public order.

“The workers can either stay at home or go to the factories, but they will not work for one week,” Ath Thun said.

Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers’ Association in Cambodia, said on Wednesday that his organisation would advise any factories facing work stoppages to seek court injunctions declaring the strikes illegal and requiring all strikers to return to work within 48 hours.

Cambodia’s Labour Law requires that workers planning a strike give notice to employers and the Ministry of Labour at least seven working days in advance. Union leader Kong Athit said that letters to GMAC and the Ministry of Labour had been sent only yesterday.

Free Trade Union president Chea Mony said the strike’s organisers had not made sufficient effort to negotiate before planning a work stoppage.

“If we strike without holding negotiations and having a clear purpose, it can affect investors, and the government might take action,” Chea Mony said.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said police would not be stationed at factories pre-emptively, and would not suppress demonstrations so long as they were conducted lawfully and without violence.

“If they follow the law, it doesn’t affect security and order,” Khieu Sopheak said. “We will take action if they break the law by causing violence or destroying factory property.”

Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Kep Chuktema could not be reached. Deputy governor Pa Socheatvong and police chief Touch Naruth said they were too busy to comment.

Loo said it was unlikely that the actual number of strikers would come anywhere close to 80,000. Union leaders, he said, had not considered the effect the strike could have on the sector.

“The unions for sure are not going to suffer,” Loo said. “It’s going to be the workers that are going to be harmed the most.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SAM RITH AND JAMES O’TOOLE

Garment workers will strike as planned

Ath Thun, head of the Cambodian Labour Confederation (Photo: Khmer Machas Srok Daily)

Friday 10 September 2010
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Soch

A communiqué sent to factory workers, asking them to join a strike to demand for decent salaries, was distributed to a large number of garment factory workers in various municipalities and provinces prior to the one-week strike that will take place on 13 September 2010. Ath Thun, head of the Cambodian Labour Confederation, said that he did not send a request to the ministry of Interior to ask for an authorization to hold the strike because the workers will hold their strike at their factories and there will be no procession along the city. He told The Phnom Penh Post that “Garment factory workers will not go to work and if they show up to their work place, they will not work as long as the ministry of Labor and Professional training and the Garment Manufacturer Association of Cambodia (GMAC) do not accept their demands to increase the workers’ salary by $9 per month.” He indicated that he discussed and explained to the workers about this strike since last week already, and that he is now starting to distribute the communiqué to the workers to inform them about the schedule of the strike.

Cambodian garment workers clash with police

Tue Jul 27, 2010
By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - At least nine female garment workers were injured on Tuesday in clashes with Cambodian riot police who used shields and electric shock batons to try to end a week-long strike over the suspension of a local union official.

More than 100 police, at least 50 in riot gear and carrying assault rifles, tried to force an estimated 3,000 female workers back into their factory, pushing several to the ground and stunning them with batons, a Reuters witness said.

The clashes were the latest setback for an industry that was badly hurt by the global economic slump from 2008 and more recently has been plagued by strikes over low pay and working conditions.

The factory on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh, is owned by a Malaysian firm and produces garments for companies including Gap, Benetton, Adidas and Puma.

Srey Kimheng, a secretary-general of the Free Trade Union (FTU), told Reuters at least nine workers were injured when police with a court order tried to clear roads and force them back to work.

The demonstration was brought to an end, and union leaders were talking to the workers about calling off their action aimed at forcing the company to give the union official his job back.

Local police chief Mok Hong insisted there had been no injuries and told Reuters the operation had gone smoothly.

The sector, Cambodia's number three currency earner behind agriculture and tourism, shed almost 30,000 jobs in 2009 after a drop in sales to the United States and Europe.

Industry data showed the country exported garments, textiles and shoes to the value of $2.3 billion last year, down from $2.9 billion in 2008. More than half go to the United States.

An estimated 300,000 of Cambodia's 13.4 million people work in the garment manufacturing sector and send vital cash to impoverished rural villages where many people live on less than $1 a day.

(Additional reporting by Chor Sokunthea; Editing by Martin Petty)

Officials liken Cambodian strikes to "HIV" of garment industry

Aug 5, 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - Persistent industrial action and strikes by Cambodian unions were a deadly virus threatening the country's garment industry with the potential to kill it, a senior official said Tuesday.

'Strikes are the garment industry's HIV, we are very worried about this,' Van Sou Ieng, president of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, was quoted as saying by the English-language Mekong Times.

'We know that some factories are about to close due to strikes and demonstrations and some factories are considering limiting output,' Ieng, speaking at a training workshop, said.

Chea Mony, head of the country's largest garment factory union, the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, said the claims were exaggerated. This year only 30 industrial actions were reported, far less than previously.

'It is true that HIV/AIDS destroys health, but the virus happens to those who don't protect themselves,' he said in a phone interview.

There was a system in place for mediation, he said, and if bosses respected workers' rights, the system worked.

'HIV is therefore the bosses' fault,' he added.

The garment industry is Cambodia's largest export industry and employs around 330,000 people.

The Mekong Times said an estimated 10 of 400 factories nationwide had closed due to industrial action this year, but did give a source for this figure.