Right to strike ‘Fundamental’
A labour law expert from the International Labour Organization yesterday rejected claims made by Cambodian factories and employers associations that workers in the Kingdom have no fundamental right to strike.
In a paid advertisement in the Post yesterday, the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and the Cambodian Federation of Employers and Business Associations (CAMFEBA) used the ILO’s Convention 87 on freedom of association to claim unions have misled the public about recent strikes.
“The right to strike is not provided for in … C87 and was not intended to be,” GMAC’s notice says. “Is the right to strike therefore a fundamental right? NO. The right to strike is NOT a fundamental right.”
But Tim de Meyer, a senior international labour law specialist for the ILO in Bangkok, said the organisation has “always” considered the right to strike fundamental. …
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, said the advertisement was misleading because it failed to mention that Cambodia’s labour law guarantees the right to strike. …
Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union, agreed, saying that the right to strike was also protected under Cambodia’s constitution. …
Ken Loo, GMAC’s secretary-general, said his association was not trying to oversimplify the ILO convention, but merely stating that the right to strike “is not inherent”. …
Shane Worrell and Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/right-strike-%E2%80%98fundamental%E2%80%99
