News
Titles closer, but ‘land damage done’
Three ethnic Jarai minority communities passed a crucial hurdle on the way to obtaining communal land titles in government-sanctioned ceremonies this week. But a human-rights activist tempered the celebration, saying mass deforestation in the province had already stripped most of the land the villagers are ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013032264629/National/titles-closer-but-land-damage-done.html
Majority of Unions Reduce Wage Demands
Six of the 10 labor unions negotiating with the country’s garment manufacturers over a new minimum wage for factory workers dropped their demands yesterday to $73 per month, breaking previous commitments by unions to stand at $91. Ken Loo, secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association ...
Banong Families Receive Communal Land Tiles
Seventy-two ethnic minorities Banong families received communal titles to a combined 1,008 hectares of ancestral land in Mondolkiri province yesterday morning in a ceremony attended by Land Management Minister Chhun Lim. Communal titles were designed to protect the ancestral lands of the country’s minorities from outside ...
Prosecutor Wants Change To Sonando Charges
In a bizarre twist at the Appeal Court hearing of radio station owner Man Sonando, the prosecution yesterday asked that judges drop the charge against Mr. Sonando of inciting antigovernment violence, but then asked the court to uphold another charge leading to an insurrection. Mr. ...
Foreign activists detained
Police arrested five activists from labour-rights group Clean Clothes Campaign yesterday outside the E Garment factory in Kandal province. Neuv Sakhan, deputy director of the Kandal provincial immigration police, told the Post four women and one man, from Norway, Belgium, England and Austria, had been taken ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013030661780/National/foreign-activists-detained.html
NagaWorld Workers on Strike After Firings
More than 500 workers from Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld Casino demonstrated on Monday, in what was their fourth straight day of strike action in front of the casino over wages and the firing of four staff members Sok Narith, deputy secretary general of the Cambodian Tourism and ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/nagaworld-workers-on-strike-after-firings-11761/
Court sets date for new hearing in Bandith case
The Appeal Court has set a hearing date in a case against former Bavet town Governor Chhouk Bandith, who stands accused of shooting three protesting garment workers last year. In December, the Svay Rieng Provincial Court dropped charges against the official, only to see the case ...
Stonewalling at Angkor complex’s temple
THIRTY workers involved in the restoration of the Angkor complex’s Ta Prohm temple were barred by their manager from entering the work site yesterday because of their unionism, labour representatives said. The stand-off followed the manager’s announcement that on February 1, he would dismiss the 30 ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012560975/National/stonewalling-at-temple.html
Nearly 1,000 workers fired from Winson International garment factory
Eight hundred and sixty-eight workers have been fired from the Winson International garment factory after they refused to obey a Kampong Speu Provincial Court injunction last week ordering them back to work within 48 hours. Free Trade Union official Ry Sithinet said yesterday that the workers, ...
Cambodian sugar plant leaves villagers bitter
Though the mood was congratulatory yesterday at the inauguration of ruling party Senator Ly Yong Phat’s sugar company – a gleaming, new facility nestled in between two hills in Kampong Speu province’s Omlaing commune – the mood just a few kilometres away bordered on desperation. Sitting ...
Illegal Cambodian Workers in Thailand Could Be Deported
Thailand is warning it will expel 1.5 million illegal workers from the country, a move that could affect around 160,000 Cambodians. Rights workers in Cambodia say the migrant laborers deserve assistance from both Thai and Cambodian authorities to help them work and travel legally. ...
Cambodia acquits ex-governor of shooting at protesting factory workers
A former Cambodian governor accused of shooting three garment workers during a labour protest was acquitted in a ruling that prompted outrage Wednesday from rights groups who say it highlights the impunity surrounding the country’s political elite. Former official Chhouk Bandith was governor of Bavet town, ...
PM urges factories to up wages
As the lure of Thailand grows increasingly attractive for cash-strapped and under-employed Cambodians, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday made a public appeal for workers to stay in the country, simultaneously urging the Cambodian market to up its competitive edge. In a speech at the inauguration of ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/National/pm-urges-factories-to-up-wages.html
Maids find local Champion
The abuse of Cambodian maids overseas has become one of the most documented human rights violation here. But as the Government, media, NGOs and aid agencies focus their energies on domestic laborer living abroad, advocates have begun to urge that closer attention be paid to ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012111359705/National-news/maids-find-local-champion.html
Complaint to Be Filed in US Over Koh Kong Sugar Plantations
Families in Koh Kong province will today file a complaint with the U.S. government against American Sugar Refining (ASR) over farmland they claim they were violently evicted from to make way for two sugar plantations that supply the New York-based company. The 207 Koh Kong ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/complaint-to-be-filed-in-us-over-koh-kong-sugar-plantations-4956/
Questions over bonuses
Unions and labour groups fear a solitary sick day could cost garment workers their entire month’s attendance bonuses – about 15 per cent of their base wage – under a new scheme meant to make life easier. The Kingdom’s 600,000 garment and footwear workers will receive ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012090558510/National-news/questions-over-bonuses.html
Maids' mother told to drop complaint: NGO
The recruitment firm HRD Company had allegedly threatened the mother of two sisters working as maids in Malaysia, pressuring her to withdraw her NGO complaint seeking help in repatriating her daughters or risk having all communication with them cut, a rights group said yesterday. Pov Chhan, ...
Report Urges Better Factories to do more
Better Factories Cambodia must name and shame garment factories that abuse the labour law if it is to transform Cambodia into an ethical sourcing option, a report on the International Labor Organization initiative says. Better Factories should make monitoring reports public, according to the 10 Years ...
Court to Question 4 Bavet Shooting Witnesses
The Svay Rieng Provincial Court will question four new witnesses to the February shooting of garment workers in Bavet City allegedly committed by former city governor Chhouk Bundith, a court official said yesterday. “We are preparing to schedule the questioning of four new witnesses. It ...
Cambodian fishermen returned from Africa
Two Cambodian fishermen, trafficked into slave labour in South Africa in mid-2011, returned safely to Phnom Penh on Friday after being rescued by legal resource group the Community Legal Education Center. ...
Lost Opportunities as Cambodian Labor Goes Abroad: Advocate
Even with an improved domestic job market, many Cambodian workers are seeking jobs overseas, despite the risks. This is mainly due to the government’s failure to get the word out, Moeun Tola, a labor advocate at the Community Legal Education Center, told “Hello VOA” Thursday. “We see ...
Mystery Surrounds SEZ Triple Shooting Case
Confusion continued to swirl around the fate of Bavet city Governor Chhuk Bundith yesterday after the Interior Ministry last week identified him as the sole suspect in the Feb. 20 triple shooting of protesters at a special economic zone (SEZ). While human rights groups claimed yesterday ...
Factory for named brands slammed for faintings
Low wages and a lack of occupational health and safety measures led to a mass fainting on Tuesday at a Phnom Penh garment factory that produces clothes for well-known brands Wal-Mart, Target and Reebok, according to a statement released by the Community Legal Education Center ...
Migrants at risk of trafficking, Human Rights Watch says
At least 20 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand have had their passports confiscated by a Thai recruitment agency, while another 10 have gone missing after they fled the same agency fearing they would be trafficked to work on Thai fishing vessels, Human Rights Watch and ...