Fear keeps workers at home

When the garment factory that employs her opened its doors yesterday for the first time since Sunday’s election, Chan Neoun was about 130 kilometres away, at home in Svay Rieng province. … Intense rioting and a military crackdown were just some of the rumours flying around on on Sunday as Cambodia waited for election results to come in. Word of civil unrest, most of it exaggerated except for isolated protests, reached many of Phnom Penh’s garment workers who had travelled home to cast ballots. A lot of them opted to miss work rather than risk walking into a dangerous situation. … Despite a Ministry of Labour decree giving traveling workers Monday off, the logistics of getting back and a fear of instability kept many workers from returning on time yesterday. … Ken Loo, the secretary general of the Garment Manufacturer’s Association in Cambodia, said the level of absenteeism happens after any extended holiday weekend. He guessed the majority of workers who missed their shifts yesterday were simply unable to secure transportation. …

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/fear-keeps-workers-home