ព័ត៌មាន
At 10th Anniversary, Arbitration Council Faces Funding Shortage
The Arbitration Council, an independent body that resolves labor disputes in Cambodia’s garment sector, celebrated its 10th anniversary yesterday, though officials expressed concern that funding for the body was due to run out in March next year. Oum Mean, secretary of state at the Ministry of ...
Labor committee announces minimum wage
The Labor Advisory Committee issued a joint statement on the decision to raise wages from $61 to $80 per month for garment and footwear workers. The statement was announced Friday, after a meeting between factory employers, union leaders and Labor Minister, Vong Soth. The wage provision ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=MTc2MjI0Y2JlMjV
Majority of Unions Reduce Wage Demands
Six of the 10 labor unions negotiating with the country’s garment manufacturers over a new minimum wage for factory workers dropped their demands yesterday to $73 per month, breaking previous commitments by unions to stand at $91. Ken Loo, secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association ...
Myanmar’s siren song
Unions and labour rights groups have spent recent months unashamedly drilling home a stark reminder: Cambodia’s minimum garment wage, at $61 per month, compares poorly with those in Thailand – where workers earn more than $200 a month – and Vietnam, which has a base ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013031861998/National/myanmar-s-siren-song.html
Room for compromise in wage debate: official
The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia and unions both need to compromise further to secure a “proper wage” for garment workers whose lives are hampered by their current $61 minimum wage, a Ministry of Social Affairs official overseeing wage negotiations said yesterday. “The government needs the ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013030661779/National/room-for-compromise-in-wage-debate-official.html
Striking workers resign in trade-off
Tae Young factory workers have ended their strike demanding the reinstatement of 16 fired workers after the factory last week agreed to drop its legal complaints against eight of the 16 in return for the entire group’s official resignations. About 600 protesters began the strike at ...
Civil servants' union dilemma
The American Center for International Labor Solidarity has set its sights on the Herculean task of unionizing Cambodia’s civil service, a move that, were it successful, could have profound implications for the country’s political landscape. The term civil service in Cambodia has unusually broad application, referring to bureaucrats, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012103059469/National-news/civil-servants-union-dilemma.html
H&M slammed over wages
Criticism has mounted against Swedish multinational clothing company H&M in its home country following a documentary released last week that sheds light on wages in its source factories in Cambodia. The episode of Swedish network TV4’s Kalla Fakta, or Cold Facts, focuses mainly on Cambodian garment ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012102959442/National-news/ham-slammed-over-wages.html
Buyers Laud Renewal of Industrial Relations Agreement
As buyers for international clothing brands yesterday praised the renewal of an agreement aimed at reducing strikes in the garment sector, labor unions and factory owners said that only proper implementation would determine the agreement’s effectiveness. Modeled after an earlier pact from 2010 to prevent work ...
Strikes at two factories stretch into weekend
More than 600 workers from Kandal province’s Tae Young Co factory yesterday continued to strike, insisting on the return of 16 dismissed workers. Yesterday’s strikes came a day after the Kandal Provincial Court delayed questioning eight of the fired workers over charges that they incited an illegal ...
Striking the right balance
The number of strikes in Cambodia’s garment industry could be set to dip and workers could be on their way to free lunches after both sides of the industry signed a two-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday. The MoU – inked by the Garment Manufacturers Association (GMAC) in ...
Court Questions Unionist on Incitement Charges
The Kandal Provincial Court yesterday questioned labor leader Rong Chhun over allegations he incited garment factory workers to stage an illegal strike, a court official said. A director at the Tai Yang garment factory in Ang Snuol district- which supplies apparel to U.S. brands Levi Strauss, ...
Union boss grilled on incitement allegation
The president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions Rong Chhun appeared in Kandal Provincial Court for nearly three hours yesterday, fielding questions stemming from accusations of incitement and defamation, the union boss said. According to Chhun, his appearance was related to a complaint alleging that he had incited ...
Negotiations Planned to Improve Relations in Garment Sector
Negotiations between the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and unions over a landmark agreement aimed at reducing strike action will be held on October 3, representatives said yesterday. The original agreement on improving industrial relations in the garment sector was signed in October 2010 by ...
Poipet Casino Dragging Feet on Promise
A casino in Poipet that pays wages only in Thai baht is yet to fulfil its promise to improve conditions for its 500 workers, a union representative said yesterday. Workers are still working 12-hour days – often without a break – at the Tropicana Casino, one ...
Casino workers have win, but fight goes on
Threats of strike from about 500 employees of the Tropicana Casino in Poipet were quieted yesterday as workers secured a small victory after management agreed to improve worker conditions and enter talks over their sacked union leader. Morm Rithy, president of union Cambodian Tourism and Service ...
Court Drops Complaint against Garment Factory Union Workers
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday dropped a complaint against five union representatives at the Ocean Garment factory in Pur Senchey district who were accused by management at the firm of inciting weeks of protests. Workers have been demonstrating since Aug. 11, demanding the factory fire a manager ...
Ocean Garment strike to end, workers return
More than 50 police officers exchanged heated words with Ocean Garment strikers yesterday afternoon, marching for over an hour to Phnom Penh Municipal Court in support of five worker representatives suspended by the company. Mid-protest, however, the group of more than 2,500 – who have been ...
Incitement Charge for Chhun
Global brands Levi’s and Gap had continued slashing orders at the Tai Yang and Camwell factories in Kandal province, costing the company that owns them about US$6 million, its manager claimed yesterday. Tai Yang Enterprises manager Wu Minghuor said the brands had reduced their orders from ...
Union Leader Called to Court for Inciting Garment Workers
The Kandal Provincial Court has summoned outspoken labor activist Rong Chhun to be questioned over accusations that he incited garment workers to strike illegally, a court official said yesterday. Deputy provincial prosecutor Tep Monin said that he called Mr. Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of ...
Sex claims a conspiracy: boss
The Ocean Garment manager facing a slew of sexual harassment charges has lashed out at the union representing the 2,500 workers on strike over the past two weeks, claiming its delegates provoked the strike after management cracked down on absent workers and overtime requests. In a ...
Bonsues 'won't' end strikes
A pay rise for the nation’s garment workers is imminent, but if recent strikes are anything to go by, the US$10 monthly increase from September 1 won’t be enough to stop them from walking off the job. Central to the demands of strikers at four garment ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012082858320/National-news/bonuses-wont-end-strikes.html
Unions Set to Discuss Agreement on Strikes
After months of standstill, unions and the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) are expected to convene at the end of the month to discuss an expired memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at reducing the amount of strike actions in the country, union leaders said ...
Unions skirmish using factory as 'battleground'
The setting is familiar – a garment factory in Kandal province that supplies Levi’s and Gap – and so is the number of people involved, but a strike that has raged at Yung Wah Industrial II factory since Monday has a twist: it’s worker versus worker and union versus ...