Labor
Labor policy and administration
Fumes blamed as 20 garment workers faint
Twenty female garment workers at Evergreen Apparel factory in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district fainted yesterday because of toilet fumes funnelled through the ventilation system, though heat stress and heavy workloads were also possible factors. ...
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/fumes-blamed-20-garment-workers-faint
Saudis sign MOU on maids
Cambodia and Saudi Arabia on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to begin work on opening a pipeline for Cambodians to work in the gulf nation, which has been routinely criticised for failing to protect migrant domestic workers from abysmal treatment and slave-like conditions. ...
Chhay Channyda and Shaun Turton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/saudis-sign-mou-maids
Appeal court to hear ‘insurrection’ case next month
Eleven opposition activists who have been jailed since 2014 for supposedly participating in an “insurrection” will have their appeal against their conviction heard on March 17, their lawyer said on Friday. ...
Khy Sovuthy
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/108429-108429/
Sugar plantation burns in Svay Rieng province
A fire burned through 45 hectares of sugarcane plantation belonging to three companies in Svay Rieng province’s Svay Tiep district on Tuesday, with one company representative suspecting that the fire was intentionally set. ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/sugar-plantation-burns-svay-rieng-province
Fumes from toilets lead to mass faintings at factory
More than 30 workers fainted at a garment factory in Kandal province over the past two days after inhaling noxious fumes circulated by a ventilation fan located near the facility’s toilets, an official said. ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/fumes-from-toilets-lead-to-mass-faintings-at-factory-107996/
Maid to return from Saudi Arabia as deal nears
Consular officials yesterday were working to repatriate a Cambodian maid fleeing what she described as unfair working conditions in Saudi Arabia, even as Cambodia’s minister of labour was en route to seal a long-awaited deal to open a pipeline of workers to the Gulf nation. ...
Charles Rollet and Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/maid-return-saudi-arabia-deal-nears
Protesting capitol bus drivers attacked
A bloody scuffle in Phnom Penh on Saturday left scores injured after protesting bus drivers and their supporters were brutally set upon by a rival association armed with sticks, metal bars and hammers. ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/protesting-capitol-bus-drivers-attacked
Cambodia suffering a lack of depth in skilled-worker pool
Kouch Pheng, president of Advanced Glory Logistics Group (Cambodia), is in the business of overcoming obstacles. His Phnom Penh-based freight-forwarding company handles a daily dose of pot-holed roads, unscripted shipping delays and Kafka-esque government red tape – yet still manages to deliver its client’s cargo ...
Ayanna Runcie
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodia-suffering-lack-depth-skilled-worker-pool
Two Cambodians convicted following Thailand market melee
Officials are attempting to secure the release of two Cambodian men who were sentenced to three months in a Thai prison on Thursday after being summarily convicted of attacking government inspectors at a market in Sa Kaeo province the day before, according to the Ministry ...
Khuon Narim
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/two-cambodians-convicted-following-thailand-market-melee-107655/
Worker road deaths spike in ‘15
The number of workers killed and injured by traffic accidents nearly doubled in 2015, according to a report released by the National Social Security Fund yesterday. ...
Sen David and Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/worker-road-deaths-spike-15
Free Unionists, FTU pleads
The Free Trade Union has sent a letter to police seeking the release of two union officials arrested on Tuesday over protests at the Cerie garment factory in Kampong Speu province. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/free-unionists-ftu-pleads
Bavet city SEZ workers to be released on bail
The four garment workers arrested late last year alongside seven others for allegedly damaging factory property during protests in Bavet City will be released on bail soon, according to Svay Rieng provincial officials. ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20820/bavet-city-sez-workers-to-be-released-on-bail/
Workers from shuttered garment factory demand wages
More than 500 garment workers from a shuttered garment factory in the capital’s Dangkor district are demanding their salaries after the firm’s owner ran away.According to its website, the Chinese-owned Muse Garment (Cambodia) Factory Limited produced pants and shorts exclusively for the European market. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/workers-shuttered-garment-factory-demand-wages
Garment workers rally against Starlight, labor ministry to step in
After roughly 300 garment workers from the Starlight Apparel manufacturing Co. Ltd. in Kandal province’s Khsach Kandal district gathered in front of the Ministry of Labor yesterday, officials promised to meet today to address their demands, according to a representative of the workers. ...
Chea Vannak
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20658/garment-workers-rally-against-starlight--labor-ministry-to-step-in/
New standards for recruitment agencies
The Ministry of Labour on Saturday issued a 12-point set of standards for recruitment agencies sending workers abroad, warning operators they have just over a month to comply. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-standards-recruitment-agencies
New report spotlights hidden workforce behind global brands
Global brands rely on a hidden workforce within their supply chains to avoid responsibility for poor working conditions and abuse, according to a new report from the International Trade Union Confederation. ...
Aria Danaparamita
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/new-report-spotlights-hidden-workforce-behind-global-brands-105909/
Training in works for garment truck drivers
Reacting to a spate of garment worker transport truck accidents in the past 12 months, including one on Tuesday that took four lives, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) yesterday announced plans to provide truck drivers with road safety education, with the aim of having ...
Lay Samean and Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/training-works-garment-truck-drivers
Hundreds pray for release of unionists
Hundreds of workers from the Agile Sweater factory in Kampong Speu province gathered in front of the provincial court yesterday, praying for authorities to release five unionists arrested at the factory on Tuesday. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hundreds-pray-release-unionists
Rescues of trafficked migrant workers surge
More than 500 trafficked Cambodian migrant workers were rescued abroad and sent home in 2015, a huge increase compared to 2014 numbers, though largely attributable to a handful of mass repatriations from Indonesia.According to a report by the Foreign Ministry, 573 workers were returned home ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/rescues-trafficked-migrant-workers-surge
Rescues of trafficked migrant workers surge
More than 500 trafficked Cambodian migrant workers were rescued abroad and sent home in 2015, a huge increase compared to 2014 numbers, though largely attributable to a handful of mass repatriations from Indonesia.According to a report by the Foreign Ministry, 573 workers were returned home ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/rescues-trafficked-migrant-workers-surge
Bavet workers see pay diminished after strikes
Workers at factories affected by recent garment worker strikes in the Svay Rieng province town of Bavet were paid their salaries on Saturday, suffering wage cuts that have sparked concerns about renewed protests. ...
Mech Dara and Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/bavet-workers-see-pay-diminished-after-strikes
PM signs health decree
As part of a long-planned project to overhaul the country’s social security system, Prime Minister Hun Sen signed into law yesterday a sub-decree effectively granting health insurance to hundreds of thousands of Cambodian workers. ...
Sen David and Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/pm-signs-health-decree
New maid training DIY
Cambodian recruitment agencies are drawing up more extensive training programs for maids being sent to Malaysia following a lifting of a ban on the practice in December. ...
Sen David and Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-maid-training-diy
Bus protesters vow to defy court ban
Phnom Penh Municipal Court has ordered 50 former and current drivers of Capitol Tours Bus Company to cease their protest in front of its office, but the drivers – most of whom were fired last year – said yesterday they will not only ignore the ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/19442/bus-protesters-vow-to-defy-court-ban/