Authorities Begin to Clamp Down on Striking Teachers
Authorities in Phnom Penh and at least three provinces have begun to clamp down on teachers conducting piecemeal strikes for higher wages, with one union representative being asked to sign an anti-strike agreement and another called in for police questioning. In Kandal province’s Kien Svay district, Ouk Chhayavy, a teacher at Jayavarman 7 High School and a Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA) activist, said Wednesday that she had been summonsed to the district office after demonstrating for a $250 minimum wage. … At Phnom Penh’s Tuol Tom Poung High School, where about 150 of 200 teachers on Monday refused to teach, classes reportedly ran as usual Wednesday after police turned up at the school Monday afternoon. “About 60 [military] police and civilians circled the school and 10 of them came into the compound and took names of teachers who were involved with the strike,” said one teacher, who asked not to be named for fear of losing his job. “They warned us not to strike or we would face arrest. We are very scared. We will not strike again,” he said. Phnom Penh military police commander Rath Srieng denied that his men had entered the school. “The military police were in the area to maintain order because there was a fire nearby,” he said. …
Ben Sokhean and Matt Blomberg
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/authorities-begin-to-clamp-down-on-striking-teachers-50366/
