Cambodian Military Cracks Down on Striking Garment Workers

2 January 2014
Radio Free Asia
Civil society / Crime and law enforcement / Economic policy and administration / Economy and commerce / Garments and textiles / Government / Human rights / Industries / Investment / Law and judiciary / Ministries and other national bodies / Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training / Social development
Cambodia National Rescue Party / CNRP / CPP / Hun Sen / IDEA / Independent and Democracy of Informal Economic Association / Kheng Tito / LICADHO / Ministry of Labor / National Military Police / Rong Chhun / Special Command Unit 911 / Vorn Pov / Yak Jin factory

Cambodia’s capital on Thursday, arresting five monks and 10 others in a display of force that has been described by a rights group as unprecedented. The soldiers from Special Command Unit 911 were deployed to crush the demonstration over minimum wages near the Yak Jin factory in Phnom Penh after more than a week of strikes that had led to the closure of hundreds of factories across the country. … The 10 workers remained in custody and will be taken to court on Friday to have charges filed against them, military police told RFA’s Khmer Service. Among the detainees is union leader Vorn Pov, President of Independent and Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA), who sustained a blow to the head requiring stitches. …. The CNRP condemned Thursday’s crackdown, announcing that it was cancelling talks with officials from Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) about the election dispute that were set to begin Friday. … Earlier this week the Ministry of Labor announced it was increasing the planned wage hike by another U.S. $5, bringing it up from the current rate of U.S. $80 to U.S. $100 per month beginning in February. It had previously promised a new rate of U.S. $95 per month would be implemented from April. After the crackdown on Thursday, union leaders insisted they were sticking to their demands for a U.S. $160 monthly minimum wage to be instituted immediately. …

 Radio Free Asia News Staff
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/strike-01022014190125.html