DPA
Phnom Penh - The leader of Cambodia's most powerful labour union, Chea Mony, on Monday said the organization would no longer support any one political party and was no longer politically aligned.
His announcement comes ahead of national elections scheduled for July and is seen by analysts as a blow for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) - the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia's former staunch ally.
'I am not a member of any party,' Mony said by telephone. 'The union should not be tied to one party so it can be more credible.'
The union was formed in 1996 by Mony's late brother, Chea Vichea, who was also a founding member of the SRP, and the some 80,000 mainly garment worker members often provided the numbers for SRP rallies.
Chea Vichea, a activist who often mobilized strikes and rallies of garment workers, was gunned down and killed in broad daylight on a busy city street in January, 2004.
Traditionally, unions in Cambodia have been aligned with, or simply an extension of, one political party or another.
Mony said that must change to help extend member bases and allow unions to push their own agendas free from the perception their complaints were purely politically motivated.
His announcement comes ahead of national elections scheduled for July and is seen by analysts as a blow for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) - the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia's former staunch ally.
'I am not a member of any party,' Mony said by telephone. 'The union should not be tied to one party so it can be more credible.'
The union was formed in 1996 by Mony's late brother, Chea Vichea, who was also a founding member of the SRP, and the some 80,000 mainly garment worker members often provided the numbers for SRP rallies.
Chea Vichea, a activist who often mobilized strikes and rallies of garment workers, was gunned down and killed in broad daylight on a busy city street in January, 2004.
Traditionally, unions in Cambodia have been aligned with, or simply an extension of, one political party or another.
Mony said that must change to help extend member bases and allow unions to push their own agendas free from the perception their complaints were purely politically motivated.
13 comments:
it is good not to take side in politics in cambodia. if they protest for wage increase of whatever, it should be related to their job only as all political group should help them to achieve this in the name of peaceful demonstration. god bless.
I totally agree with you. Politicians should not take advantages over the innocent workers. They should have what they want but not on the basis of something mobilized by the ambitious of egoist politicians.
First this Union was on the left side of the road. This year, it becomes at middle of the road. In step, it will be moving to the right side of the road.
Anyone wants to bet!!!!
Catch fish without disturbing water.
Ah Chea Mony is lying. He's Ah Xam Rainxy's mouth piece. He's will continued to make people suffer so that the SRP will win the election, but Ah Chea Mony's agenda is failing, just as the SRP is.
The Cambodian court, the military and religion should be independent from CPP in order to make anyone of them credible.
Mony should knows that the CPP did not care about the trade union working conditions and wages. If it was their intervention it is their political agenda to win this election and once they won the workers will utimately pay the price again.
this is called check and balance in the USA's system. this is what cambodia's gov't ought to be, too, the legislative branch, the judicial branch and the executive branch should all be separate political system, this is they check on each other's work and they balance any disagreement. it works really well in the USA's system of gov't. i think cambodia should learn a lot from the good USA. god bless.
Right move, Chea Mony.
May be it is time that Unions strat their own political party - The Labour party.
it is only inntheory but most unions are linked to a political,party. just like the Trade Uion movement in australia was formed and still linked to teh labour Party, the Free Trade Union in Cambodia will be more or less linked to the SRP. They can still constructively critique each other.
Chea Mony receive death threat and money by CPP to make such declaration and make new policies. The intents of CPP are to weaken at any cost the opposition so that they keep iron fist on power in Cambodia. Don't dream all, we are still under control of the Cambodian Politburo, that receive orders from Vietnam.
You make the right move Mony. The fact that other labor unions in other countries aligned themselves with political parties dosen't mean that you have to follow their footsteps. A non-partisan union is a better union.
Chanda C.
I bet, soon he will declare himeself and the unoin as the CPP member as near election come.
It's your right not the others are.
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