Labor policy and administration

Preah Vihear’s deputy governor has vowed not to let protesters near Prime Minister Hun Sen as he cuts the ribbon on a $360 million sugar mill in Tbeng Meanchey district today. ...

Following the National Assembly’s passage of the draft trade union law last week, the Senate is set to take up the law today, with the permanent committee scheduled to discuss it followed by a vote on Tuesday, said the Senate’s secretary-general Oum Sarith.   ...

The Free Trade Union has asked Labour Minister Ith Samheng to intervene in the case of two union leaders it alleges were illegally fired by Horizon Outdoor (Cambodia), a Kampong Chhnang province bag and accessories factory. ...

Former Capitol Tours bus driver Nan Vanna and labor activist Ros Siphay were released on bail Wednesday, nearly two months after they were arrested for taking part in a demonstration against the company during which protesters were attacked by a mob of angry tuk-tuk drivers. ...

The increase in the government-set minimum wage in the garment sector and lower prices have hit the bottom line of Grand Twins International (GTI), the only company in the sector listed on the stock exchange. The company yesterday reported revenue for the year ended December 31 ...

Conflicting versions of events emerged yesterday after a Battambang man was found dead in a disused gold-mining pit in the province’s Phnom Proek district.   ...

As the National Assembly finally comes face to face with the draft union law today, it is unclear whether opposition lawmakers will vote against the contentious legislation. Independent trade unions, meanwhile, are planning a protest outside parliament. ...

With the National Assembly set to vote on whether to adopt the controversial trade union law on Monday, the majority of Cambodia’s industrial workers remain unaware of the crossroads at which Cambodia’s employers and workers stand.   ...

The Ministry of Labour has urged the garment industry to take adequate health and safety measures to compensate for what they say is already an unusually hot dry season. ...

A former Capitol Bus Company employee was charged with defamation on Saturday after he was arrested in Battambang for handing out leaflets asking people to boycott the company. ...

Former employees of the recently closed Dream Land amusement park in Phnom Penh agreed to severance packages of between $85 and $200 on Tuesday, company officials said.     ...

About 50 former employees of the recently shuttered Dream Land amusement park in Phnom Penh protested outside the park’s grounds on Monday to demand severance pay. ...

Cambodia’s embassy in Thailand has denied allegations that officials from the embassy were extorting Cambodian employers and migrant workers in Thailand by demanding bribes for fake passports and pushing along applications to legalize a person’s working status. ...

As a result of the meeting with the specialist commissions, Minister of Labor Ith Samheng said that nearly 50 percent of the comments given by union leaders, business owners, development partners and the government were used to make changes in the draft union law yesterday. ...

Illegal strikes, the minimum wage and high electricity costs were the subjects discussed during the 13th annual meeting between Cambodia and Japan last week, according to the Council for Development of Cambodia (CDC). ...

Two unionists jailed since February 2 have been released on bail by the Kompong Speu Provincial Court, although they remain charged with incitement and intentional violence in connection with a protest outside the Cerie garment factory, officials said Thursday. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that the government is considering raising family allowances for the wives and children of public servants across the Kingdom. ...

The construction sector created almost twice as many jobs last year as it did in 2014, according to a report from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. ...

The National Committee on Combating Human Trafficking released its annual report yesterday, with figures showing an improved effort by authorities since 2014 to crackdown on the trade. ...

Roughly 2,000 workers from the Malaysian-owned Global Apparels Limited garment factory in Phnom Penh went on strike yesterday after the factory announced it would be reducing staff numbers by 500 over the coming months, union representatives said yesterday. ...

About 500 people gathered outside Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison on Tuesday to demand the release of form­er Capitol Tours bus driver Nan Vanna and la­bor activist Ros Si­phay, who were arrested two weeks ago for participating in a demonstration against the company. ...

The Ministry of Labour is eyeing the creation of a draft law that would codify the sometimes-nebulous process that determines the garment industry’s minimum wage, attendees at the ministry’s annual meeting were told last week. ...

The Cambodian Embassy in Kuwait successfully rescued a Cambodian woman working as a maid in Saudi Arabia who complained of abusive working conditions, lack of food and of having pay withheld. Him Srey, a Cham Muslim from Kampong Cham province who went to Saudi Arabia ...

Despite their overwhelmingly female workforce, garment factories in Kompong Speu province fail to adequately address the maternal health and child-care needs of their staff, according to new study set to be released by the French NGO Enfants and Developpment. ...