Home for the holidays
Still agitated 20 minutes after the rally in front of SL Garment Processing (Cambodia) Ltd had dispersed yesterday, Choem Som Im held up seven fingers as she jerked her arms forward and spoke in an equally sharp tone. …
The dilemma, faced by many garment workers, is a familiar one, Moen Tola, head of the labour program at the Community Legal Education Center, said. Most factories pay monthly salaries on the 10th, but the holiday weekend falls just before payday this year. …
Work in at least two factories came to a halt due to Pchum Ben-related disputes last week. Employees at Sae Han International (Cambodia) Co, Ltd and the Chin Chin garment factory staged walkouts.
About 150 Chin Chin workers briefly blocked National Road 4 in front of the Por Sen Chey district factory last Tuesday when the owner said he would pay workers half their salaries before the holiday, rather than the entire month’s pay. …
The topic of Pchum Ben plans yesterday brought forth an especially dejected mood among workers at SL Garment Processing, who have been striking on and off for more than a month.
With about 6,000 employees currently on strike, SL management last week announced it would pay workers who were on strike between September 1 and September 20 half their monthly salary before Pchum Ben. Workers who remained at their stations would get their full salary, plus a 50 per cent bonus. …
According to Som Im, 24-year-old SL worker Soeun Vy and several others in front of the factory yesterday, strikers who had gathered to collect their goodwill payments received just $7. …
Sean Teehan and Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/home-holidays
