Industries
Labor Ministry ignored its own research on minimum wage
The Labor Ministry on Tuesday defended its failure to act on the results of its own study, which in November found that the minimum livable wage for garment factory workers is between $157 and $177. In its annual report, the ministry listed its wage study, carried ...
Aun Pheap and Matt Blomberg
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/labor-ministry-ignored-its-own-research-on-minimum-wage-51977/
Cambodia: Bail refused for 21 workers and human rights defenders
The Cambodian government must immediately and unconditionally release the 21 garment workers and human rights defenders who have been detained since early January, FIDH and its member organizations Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) and Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human ...
FIDH News Staff
http://www.fidh.org/en/asia/cambodia/14627-cambodia-bail-refused-for-21-workers-and-human-rights-defenders
Fears over human rights in Cambodia as crackdown on protests continues
Prak Sovannary tries to put on a brave face. She has just heard that two of 23 men arrested during a violent crackdown on garment worker protests in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last month have unexpectedly been released on bail.Her husband, Vorn Pao, a prominent activist and union leader, is not ...
Kevin Ponniah
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/feb/11/cambodia-human-rights-crackdown-protests
Workers on strike to demand annual leave, administrator be ousted
Around 1,000 garment workers from a factory producing jeans in Bith Trang Special Economic Zone in Prey Nop district went on strike to protest against administration chief in their factory. They also demanded the annual leave of 18-21 days per years, which were rejected by ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=MDc5ZDFkY2Q1MzB
Cambodia, Vietnam trade bound to hit 5 bln USD in 2015: PM
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday was optimistic about the country’s steadily growing trade with Vietnam and foresaw that the bilateral trade volume would definitely reach $5 billion by 2015. The two-way trade volume was valued at $3.5 billion last year, up 25 percent year-on-year. Speaking ...
Global Times News Staff
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/841879.shtml#.UvslvPmSxqU
Unions threaten nationwide strike if 21 prisoners not released
Sixteen unions threatened Monday to organize a nationwide strike if the 21 activists and protesters jailed following garment industry protests on January 2 and 3 are not released on bail Tuesday. The unions also called for charges against the 21 prisoners, 16 of whom began a ...
Mech Dara and Alice Cuddy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/unions-threaten-nationwide-strike-if-21-prisoners-not-released-51864/
Unions, opposition ‘hindering wage talks’
Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng and ministry spokesman Heng Sour yesterday accused unions and the opposition of derailing the government’s efforts at minimum wage reform by striking and stirring up violence for their own political gain. “The government has set up a committee to study the ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/unions-opposition-%E2%80%98hindering-wage-talks%E2%80%99
Government warns frequent flier
A dispute has erupted off the coast of Sihanoukville. On one side is the country’s aviation authority, backed by the local airport. On the other side are a couple of guys and a few flying boats. The State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) said yesterday that ...
Eddie Morton and Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/government-warns-frequent-flier
Victorian MP Hong Lim urges Australia to push Cambodia over garment worker crackdown
A Victorian MP born in Cambodia says Australia should put pressure on the country of his birth over a crackdown on protesting garment workers which left five people dead. Hong Lim, the Member for Clayton, says he was in Cambodia earlier this month, when five protesting ...
ABC News Staff
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-10/an-victorian-mp-hong-lim-wants-more-australian-engagement-with-/5249570
Construction of Belarus tractor assembly plant in Cambodia nearing completion
The progress in the project to build the Belarus tractor assembly plant in Cambodia was discussed in a meeting between Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Igor Petrishenko and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Cambodia to Russia Thay Vanna, BelTA learnt from the press service of the ...
BelTA News Staff
http://news.belta.by/en/news/econom?id=739642
Not going without a fight
Teng Khorn’s living room is under a tree, his bedroom in a boat hauled up on a slipway for caulking beside the mangroves that lead to his source of income: the sea. His choice of abode is also his act of defiance against the monolithic Chinese ...
May Titthara and David Boyle
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/not-going-without-fight
Bailed Garment Workers Speak of Injustice Ahead of March
In the weeks that 17-year-old garment worker Yon Chea languished in prison, he spent hours staring out of the window at a concrete wall, certain that he would never see his home or his family again. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday morning granted ...
Mech Dara and Alice Cuddy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/bailed-garment-workers-speak-of-injustice-ahead-of-march-51759/
Two of 23 jailed protesters granted bail; release date unknown
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday morning granted bail to two of the 23 union activists and protesters jailed following the lethal suppression of garment worker strikes by military police on January 3. Municipal court presiding Judge Leang Samnatt held an unscheduled hearing on Friday ...
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/two-of-23-jailed-protesters-granted-bail-release-date-unknown-51734/
Threat to unleash ‘paratroopers’ in land dispute
About 200 villagers locked in a land dispute with the Chinese-owned Union Development Group (UDG) in Koh Kong province said they were warned on Friday that “paratroopers” would be brought in if they continued to block a road to the company’s headquarters in Botum Sakor ...
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/threat-to-unleash-paratroopers-in-land-dispute-51740/
Garment workers to receive USD 100 per month from February
The Government already issued a Decision to require the employers to increase the minimum wage for the factory workers to USD 100 per month, starting from February 2014, said a government official. Vong Savann, a senior official of the Labor Ministry added that the Decision was ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=NmY5MTVmYTZhMzE
Unions want wage negotiations, arrest of shooters from January violence
Representatives of nine unions met together have made seven resolutions to seek better conditions and wages for workers in Cambodia’s factories. The unions are calling for the release of those workers, the restart of wage negotiations and the “unmasking” of police personnel who did the ...
Kong Sothanarith
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/unions-want-wage-negotiations-arrest-of-shooters-from-january-violence/1845791.html
Missing boy presumed dead after protest shooting
The father of a 16-year-old boy who went missing during last month’s labor protest crackdowns says he now presumes his son dead. The boy, Khim Sophat, was caught up in demonstrations at the Canadia Industrial Zone in early January. He was not listed among the four ...
Khoun Theara
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/missing-boy-presumed-dead-after-protest-shooting/1845735.html
Sugar Firm Offers Defense After Call for Probe of EU Trade Links
The director of a CPP senator’s sugar plantation accused of stealing land from hundreds of families said Wednesday that most locals were happy with the new jobs the plantation has generated, a week after a visiting European Union parliamentarian renewed calls for an investigation of ...
Zsombor Peter
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/sugar-firm-offers-defense-after-call-for-probe-of-eu-trade-links-51545/
Groups tell ILO to retract ‘right to strike’ claim
An employers and businesses federation that took out paid newspaper advertisements claiming Cambodia’s workers have no fundamental right to strike has hit back at the International Labour Organization (ILO), asking it to retract comments it made in response to the ads. Last week, the Cambodian Federation ...
Shane Worrell
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/groups-tell-ilo-retract-%E2%80%98right-strike%E2%80%99-claim
Workers From 2011 Shooting Still Dealing With Medical Problems
Two women wounded in the 2011 protest shooting in Svay Rieng province have seen their conditions worsen. A total three women were shot during worker strikes by the former governor of Bavet city, Chhouk Bandith, during worker strikes in February 2011. ...
Heng Reaksmey
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/workers-from-2011-shooting-still-dealing-with-medical-problems/1845710.html
Cambodian Panel Begins to Grapple With Minimum Wage Reforms
Cambodia’s newly established government panel to investigate minimum wage reform held its first meeting Thursday to lay out a strategy for addressing the hot button issue, as union leaders announced plans to protest to back their demand for monthly salary increases for footwear and garment ...
Radio Free Asia News Staff
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/committee-02062014185924.html
IMF says Cambodia's strong outlook subject to 'considerable' risks
Cambodia’s strong economic growth and foreign investment are subject to “considerable” downside risks, the International Monetary Fund has warned. A staff report released in Washington late Tuesday said “economic activity remains strong driven by robust exports, with garment exports helped by preferential access to European Union.” At ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=M2FjYzE4NzRmYzQ
Cambodia copes with double-digit traffic growth
The Cambodian government recently awarded the operator of its three international airports more than $100 million for upgrades in an effort to accommodate strong passenger growth driven by the country’s nascent tourism industry. Cambodia Airports—the subsidiary of Italian firm Vinci, which serves as the concession ...
Jennifer Meszaros
http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2014-02-05/cambodia-copes-double-digit-traffic-growth
Hoteliers Are Warming Up to Phnom Penh
Compared to the bustling tourist center of Siem Reap, Phnom Penh has long stood in second place as an investment destination for international hotel operations. But as infrastructure slowly improves and the number of visitors to the capital continues to grow, international hotel chains are taking ...
Emily Wilkins
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/hoteliers-are-warming-up-to-phnom-penh-51460/