Factory rejects order to rehire 19 workers
Flouting a government order, representatives of SL Garment Processing (Cambodia) Ltd yesterday refused to rehire 19 union representatives and activists during a meeting with the Ministry of Labour.
Rehiring the 19 has been the key sticking point in ending the three-month-old strike, which erupted into violence two weeks ago today in an incident that left an uninvolved bystander killed by a police bullet. ...
News of SL’s refusal to rehire the workers came as no surprise to C.CAWDU vice president Kong Athit. ...
“That’s not a surprise,” he said yesterday. “C.CAWDU will keep pushing the government, and … buyers and to come to negotiate to settle this.”
If SL, which supplies to Gap Inc and H&M, does not rehire the workers, the strike will continue, Athit said. If they decide to close the factory, they still must compensate the workers, according to the labour law’s stipulations. ...
Nearly 40 people were arrested at that time, but only two teens – ages 14 and 17– remain in custody. ...
Mom Kunthear and Sean Teehan
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/factory-rejects-order-rehire-19-workers
