Bavet City garment strikes gain momentum

28 April 2014
The Cambodia Daily
Civil society / Crime and law enforcement / Economic policy and administration / Economy and commerce / Garments and textiles / Government / Industries / Investment / Judiciary and courts / Labor / Labor arbitration / Labor policy and administration / Law and judiciary / Ministries and other national bodies / Provincial and local governments / Social development / Special economic zones / Unions
BK factory / Chea Udom / Chhouk Bundith / Collective Union of Movement of Workers / Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia / GMAC / Kingmaker factory / Manhattan Special Economic Zone / Smart Tech / Sun Chet / Svay Rieng provincial labor department / Tai Seng Bavet Special Economic Zone

Trade unions may have failed to get a stay-at-home strike for higher wages off the ground after the Khmer New Year earlier this month. But a strike for bonus pay is picking up steam in Svay Rieng Province, where some 20,000 garment workers protested at a pair of Bavet City special economic zones on Saturday. A frustrated Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) put out a statement on Friday rebuking the workers and the government alike, urging local authorities to do more before the protests get out of hand. The Bavet City strikes got started at a few factories after the new year holiday when some workers grew envious of their colleagues at other local factories who had just been paid a one-time, $50 bonus for agreeing not to strike over the past three months. Though most factories had not offered their workers the same deal, more and more workers at the Manhattan and Tai Seng Bavet special economic zones are insisting on it. … Chheng Chhean, secretary general of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, estimated that employees at about 80 percent of Bavet’s roughly 40 garment factories—some 20,000 workers in all—joined the strike on Saturday. … In a statement posted to its website on Friday, GMAC accused the workers of trying to effectively “blackmail” the factories for money they were never promised and warned that, far from winning the bonuses they want, they could have their salaries cut if they kept protesting. The statement puts the blame squarely on the Collective Union and its president, Pav Sina. It also warned authorities that the protests could grow increasingly violent and spread if they did not gain control of the situation soon. … GMAC claims that the last round of nationwide strikes forced its members to lose out on $42.2 million in revenue and caused $17.3 million in property damage. … The Collective Union’s Mr. Sina denied GMAC’s claim that his group was somehow responsible for the Bavet strikes. … Mr. Horn said police have also summoned two local Collective Union representatives, Sun Chet and Chea Udom, for questioning today over a recent complaint filed by the factories. The union says it will gather some 5,000 supporters at the municipal police station to protest. …

 Mech Dara
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/bavet-city-garment-strikes-gain-momentum-57447/