Unions set to begin first phase of nationwide strike

24 February 2014
The Cambodia Daily
Civil society / Crime and law enforcement / Economic policy and administration / Economy and commerce / Garments and textiles / Government / Human rights / Industries / Judiciary and courts / Labor / Labor arbitration / Labor policy and administration / Law and judiciary / Laws and regulations / Social development / Unions
Ath Thorn / Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union / Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia / GMAC / Ken Loo / Van Sou Ieng

A coalition of 18 labor unions and associations is today set to begin the first phase of a nationwide labor strike in the garment sector by calling on workers in about 100 factories to boycott working overtime, according to union leaders. Despite efforts by the government to stifle the strike, the union leaders, who claim to represent more than 300,000 workers in the garment sector, said they will continue distributing leaflets informing workers about the threatened strike in the middle of March. “We expect that about 100 factories will join the strike tomorrow by not working overtime while we are in the process of distributing [leaflets],” said Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union. ... The last round of garment worker strikes, which began in December and included protest marches and demonstrations outside factories, were violently suppressed by state security forces in January. Military police shot dead five protesters on January 3, and 21 protesters are still being detained in a high-security prison in Kompong Cham province. Union leaders said they aimed to finish distributing at least 200,000 leaflets to workers throughout the country by Tuesday. Last week, the unions were delayed after they struggled to find a printing house willing to print the leaflets. The demands outlined in the unions’ petition include the release of the 21 prisoners, a $160 minimum wage for garment workers, the prosecution of state forces who killed the five strikers, and an end to the government’s ban on demonstrations. ... Ouk Sok Maly, 43, a garment worker from Svay Rieng province, said during her lunch break outside Phnom Penh’s Canadia Industrial Park on Sunday that workers are desperate for higher salaries to keep up with rising inflation. “We can strike for three months without going to work because we cannot live with this situation since the price of commodities and house rental is rising fast,” Ms. Sok Maly said. ...

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http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/unions-set-to-begin-first-phase-of-nationwide-strike-52989/