Accused Manager Put on Leave; Workers Lodge Complaints
The manager accused of abusing female workers at the Ocean Garment factory in Phnom Penh, and who provoked days of public demonstrations by thousands of workers to have him fired, has been put on leave, while his alleged victims have lodged complaints against him with police, officials said yesterday. Female workers have accused Bangladeshi national Faruk Ahmad of sexual harassment and verbal abuse, according to Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth, adding that the officers had sent notification yesterday to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. Mr. Ahmad, 38, is no longer at the factory, said Chhuon Vichheka, administrative assistant for Ocean Garment. … The Phnom Penh Municipal Court ordered the thousands of protesting workers to go back to work, and ordered the suspension from work of five representatives from the Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUOMOW), which factory management accused of stirring up the mass protests. …
