Unions in Cambodia are threatening more strikes if trade union leaders and workers are not reinstated in their jobs after taking part in a four-day mass strike over pay earlier this month.
The warning came after today (27 September) after small-scaled protests broke out again on Friday when hundreds workers were not allowed to get back to work.
According to union figures, more than 300 union leaders and activists and more than 3,300 workers who joined the strike were fired by the factory owners. Allegations of suspensions and firings are directed at some large-scale garment factories that outsource garments for leading fashion brands, including Goldfame Enterprise, Winner Garment, and River and Rich.
“The workers said that if the factory owners don’t allow them to return to work, strikes will start again,” said Keo Boeun, a union representative at the Goldfame Enterprise factory.
The mass walk-out by an estimated 200,000 workers earlier this month was prompted by a decision to raise the minimum wage from $50 to $61 a month – which is less than the US$93 demanded by workers and unions.
This strike ended on 16 September after the Ministry of Social Affairs agreed to hold talks with representatives from the manufacturers and workers. A meeting between the two sides is scheduled for today (27 September), but just-style has so far been unable to reach Mr Ken Loo, Secretary General of the Garment Manufacturers’ Association in Cambodia (GMAC) for results of the meeting.
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