Labor
New union group formed
A new collective of transportation workers unions was announced on Sunday by the Cambodia Labour Confederation, Cambodia’s largest association of independent unions.The Cambodian Transport Workers Federation (CTWF) is composed of seven transportation workers unions and currently represents about 2,000 workers, according to Ath Thorn, president ...
Charles Rollet and Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-union-group-formed
Strike ends at Bavet window factory
More than 400 workers from a Chinese-owned window factory in Svay Rieng’s Bavet town returned to work yesterday following two weeks of protests that saw strikers pelt their own factory with rocks. ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/strike-ends-bavet-window-factory
Maids back in Kingdom after stint in Malaysia
Two Cambodian maids were repatriated from Malaysia on Saturday after being duped by a broker into taking unlawful and unpaid jobs, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/maids-back-kingdom-after-stint-malaysia
Vietnamese migrants nabbed at ACLEDA building
Twenty undocumented Vietnamese laborers are being held for deportation after they were arrested Friday during a raid on a construction site for a new Acleda Bank branch in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district, an immigration official said. ...
Khuon Narim
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/vietnamese-migrants-nabbed-at-acleda-building-92327/
Curtain factory workers break windows during strike
More than 400 employees of a curtain factory in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet City were on strike for the eighth day Thursday over alleged labor abuses and unmet demands, a day after some of the workers lobbed rocks at the building, causing thousands of dollars ...
Huot Chanpav
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/curtain-factory-workers-break-windows-during-strike-92211/
Curtain factory workers break windows during strike
More than 400 employees of a curtain factory in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet City were on strike for the eighth day Thursday over alleged labor abuses and unmet demands, a day after some of the workers lobbed rocks at the building, causing thousands of dollars ...
Huot Chanpav
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/curtain-factory-workers-break-windows-during-strike-92211/
Progress seen on trafficking
Less than a month after Cambodia was handed the second-lowest rating in the United States’ annual Trafficking in Persons report, a senior official is “optimistic” the Kingdom can eventually move up the ranking. ...
Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/progress-seen-trafficking
Mixed results as four-year anti-trafficking program comes to an end
With the end of its four-year program to fight human trafficking approaching, USAID, partner organization Winrock International and the government’s National Committee to Combat Trafficking are taking stock of their progress. ...
James Reddick
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/14696/mixed-results-as-four-year-anti-trafficking-program-comes-to-an-end/
Cambodian agriculture in transition: opportunities and risks
The last decade was golden for Cambodian agriculture. The annual agricultural sector growth of 5.3% between 2004 and 2012 was one of the highest in the world, according to a new World Bank report, Cambodian Agriculture in Transition: Opportunities and Risks , prepared with the ...
World Bank News Staff
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/08/19/cambodian-agriculture-in-transition-opportunities-and-risks
Group slams maid program
A pilot scheme to send Cambodian domestic workers to Singapore has been described as a “failure” by a worker welfare group due to concerns over poor working conditions.Speaking at a conference in Singapore over the weekend, John Gee, spokesman for Singapore-based Transient Workers Count Too ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/group-slams-maid-program
Six maids back from Malaysia
Six Cambodian domestic workers were repatriated yesterday after spending three months in Malaysia where they were promised work by a broker but given only tourist visas. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/six-maids-back-malaysia
Thirty Unions call on Labor Ministry to rethink draft law
Thirty labor unions and associations appealed to the Labor Ministry on Friday to redraft its planned Trade Union Law, which they say will suppress industrial action and facilitate union busting, despite significant concessions in the latest draft. ...
Khuon Narim
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/thirty-unions-call-on-labor-ministry-to-rethink-draft-law-91748/
Union law could cost CPP the next election, labor leader warns
Draft legislation on trade unions will undermine the hard-won progress of labor unions here as well as violate fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, labor law and UN conventions, labor leaders said yesterday. ...
Chea Takihiro
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/14396/union-law-could-cost-cpp-the-next-election--labor-leader-warns/
Cambodian workers in limbo as Qatar drags heels on safety standards
The Cambodian government is working on an agreement with the Qatari government that would allow Cambodians to join the thousands of migrant workers helping to build the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup. As a safety measure, the Cambodian government has requested that Qatar guarantee ...
Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/14391/cambodian-workers-in-limbo-as-qatar-drags-heels-on-safety-standards/
Girls returned from begging in Thailand
Eight young girls were placed in the care of the Social Affairs Ministry on Thursday after Thai authorities found them begging and selling flowers in Thailand and sent them back to Cambodia, according to the ministry. ...
Sek Odom
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/girls-returned-from-begging-in-thailand-91658/
Suspected China bride broker busted by cops
A suspected bride broker was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly tricking three Cambodian women into marrying men in China, according to a report filed by Phnom Penh police. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/suspected-china-bride-broker-busted-cops
Court says roadblock more severe than shooting
Responding to criticism of the eighteen-month jail terms handed down to four unionists who blocked a road at a strike in Svay Rieng province last year, a deputy prosecutor said Wednesday that their actions were as severe as those of former Bavet City governor Chhouk ...
Mech Dara
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/court-says-roadblock-more-severe-than-shooting-91545/
Amnesty sets stance on sex work
Human rights NGO Amnesty International on Tuesday voted to adopt a policy to “protect the human rights of sex workers”, notably putting forward suggestions to decriminalise the consensual sex trade while safeguarding sex workers from possible exploitation. ...
Pech Sotheary and Ethan Harfenist
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/amnesty-sets-stance-sex-work
Cambodia unions warn of strikes as factories indicate no wage raise
Cambodia’s garment factories have indicated they will reject demands for an increase in the minimum wage next year, angering unions and risking upheaval in a crucial economic sector for years dogged by unrest. ...
Prak Chan Thul
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/12/cambodia-garment-idUSL3N10N1W620150812
Limousine drivers strike deal with company
A group of 55 drivers who briefly went on strike last month settled their dispute with the Royal Cambodian Limousine Service over unpaid overtime wages on Monday, agreeing to accept between $600 and $700 per driver, according to a representative of the drivers. Chhay Buntha, ...
Kang Sothear
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/limousine-drivers-strike-deal-with-company-91462/
Six women abused as maids, brides return
Six Cambodian women rescued from allegedly abusive conditions in China and Malaysia were returned home yesterday after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intervened in their cases, officials said. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/six-women-abused-maids-brides-return
Garment factories vote to freeze minimum wage
A majority of members of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, which represents the country’s more than 500 exporting garment factories, have voted against any raise to their workers’ minimum wage next year. ...
Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/garment-factories-vote-to-freeze-minimum-wage-91436/
Unions eye Bandith verdict
As Chhouk Bandith yesterday began his 18-month jail term, union leaders praised the arrest of the former Bavet town governor who shot into a crowd of striking garment workers in 2012, though most saw in it no hint of a warming in relations between the ...
Charles Rollet and Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/unions-eye-bandith-verdict
Trafficking arrests protested
About 200 people gathered in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district on Sunday demanding the release of two women who were arrested last week for allegedly chaining up their 13-year-old niece and selling her for sex. ...
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/trafficking-arrests-protested