Labor policy and administration

About 100 garment workers from a factory in Takeo province that supplies German sports brands Puma and Adidas protested in front of the Labor Ministry Wednesday to demand the reinstatement of about 1,600 staff fired last month for striking over inadequate benefits. ...

Despite repeated threats of strikes, a coalition of garment sector unions is still waiting on a response from the Ministry of Labour for the wide-ranging reforms it called for last month, with plans to seek help from overseas. ...

A Tbong Khmum woman, whose family said she had been plagued by major personality changes and signs of mental illness since returning from working as a maid in Malaysia, hanged herself with a hammock cord in her house Sunday afternoon. ...

Two workers from a garment factory in Kompong Speu province who were charged with a slew of crimes following their attempt last month to break away from the only union operating at their factory were released from jail on Friday, a court official and union ...

The Ministry of Labour is investigating the death of a 19-year-old female garment worker who fainted at a factory in Prey Veng on Thursday. ...

Despite industry concerns that a minimum wage increase to $128 earlier this year would hurt Cambodia’s garment exports, the garment and footwear sector – a mainstay of the economy – showed robust growth for the first half of 2015, netting around $3 billion, according to ...

A coalition of garment industry unions reiterated warnings yesterday that they will launch nationwide strikes calling for better conditions if Minister of Labour Ith Sam Heng refuses to negotiate on previous demands. ...

Cambodia’s garment industry continued to perform “solidly” through the first half of the year, allaying fears that recent minimum wage increases would cripple one of the country’s main economic engines, according to the latest figures released by the International Labor Organization (ILO). ...

About 400 parishioners at the Christian Evangelical International Ministry in Phnom Penh were singing hymns when 15 armed police officers rushed through the doors on Saturday and rounded up all of the Nigerian men present, according to Peter Ike, a preacher’s assistant at the church. ...

Representatives of the private sector and rights groups met yesterday at a forum on business and human rights to discuss how Cambodia’s growing industry can protect the rights of its workers. ...

Dozens of military police were deployed in Phnom Penh on Wednesday as about 80 truck drivers rallied outside the General Department of Cus­toms and Excise demanding tax breaks and for right-hand drive vehicles to be legalized, an official said. ...

Four women are on their way back to cambodia after being forced to work under brutal conditions in malaysia, the foreign ministry said yesterday. The four had fled their workplace and sought help from the cambodian embassy. ...

The bus company under-fire for a string of reported crimes allegedly committed by their staff, including a recent sexual assault – have pledged to introduce new measures and training to limit such incidents in the future. ...

Since the government began its crackdown nearly one year and a half ago on foreigners without work permits, it has seen applications for work permits skyrocket alongside revenues from fines. ...

Demonstrations surrounding the establishment of a new union at a garment factory in Kompong Speu province ended Monday after management dropped their complaint against two jailed workers in exchange for protesters agreeing to return to their jobs, a court official and unionists said. ...

A campaign to stop sexual harassment at the workplace will be at the center of efforts to curb violence against women over the next year, NGO representatives said at a meeting with government officials Sunday.​ ...

The International Labor Organization says a new National Employment Policy will improve the country’s economy for the young generation.The policy, drafted with the help of Sweden, aims to increase “decent and productive” employment opportunities, enhance skills and human resources development, and strengthen labor market governance, ...

A new global treaty from the International Labour Organization (ILO) is calling on governments to step-up their commitment to tackling modern slavery in countries like Cambodia where forced labour remains endemic. ...

A police official in Kompong Speu province said Thursday that the military might confront garment workers protesting the arrests of two colleagues if they did not stop demonstrating outside provincial government buildings.Around 600 workers from the Hong Kong-owned Agile Sweater factory protested outside the provincial ...

Two garment workers who broke away from the only union operating at their factory in Kompong Speu province in an attempt to provide workers an alternate choice for representation were charged Wednesday with a slew of crimes and are being held in provisional detention, officials ...

Following the announcement earlier this month that the monthly minimum wage in the garment sector will be raised from $128 to $140 next year, eight unions representing factory workers issued a list of 13 demands on Tuesday, threatening protests if their requests go ignored. ...

Thailand has agreed to relax enforcement against expired documents held by migrant Cambodians, which become invalid when they switch jobs without their previous employer’s written consent. ...

A fire tore through a garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district on Monday evening, destroying more than half of the building and its inventory but injuring no workers, an official said Tuesday. ...

Major global brands that source from Cambodia welcome the recent rise in the basic minimum wage for the country’s more than 700,000 garment workers, representatives of three brands told Khmer Times yesterday. They have no plans to shift sourcing to other countries where wages are ...