Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
In response to a question asked by The Mekong Times during an interview on demonstrations and strikes led by garment workers, Chea Mony, President of the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), said that if the government does not want to see demonstrations and strikes, it only needs to (1) apply the law properly, and (2) eliminate corruption. Chea Mony said that if the government can accomplish these two tasks, “I am certain that demonstrations and strikes will not happen in Cambodia. Demonstrations and strikes take place because there is no fair resolution to the demands made, and there is no respect of the law. Therefore, it is not difficult, if the Cambodian government does not want a bad reputation as a country rife with demonstrations and strikes, then it must abide by the law.” Chea Mony added: “Currently, in Cambodia, the garment workers are not the only one striking or demonstrating, even poor people from rural areas are demonstrating as well. This is so because the law is violated, because of land-grabbing. I want to stress that, we, as workers, do not want to hold demonstration or strike that result in the police arresting us, but we don’t have a choice.”
