Ministry plans to hold event on Labour Day
THE Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training has instructed all relevant departments and sub-national administrations to organise celebrations of International Labour Day on May 1.
The 137th anniversary of International Labour Day will be observed this year with the theme “Peace, stability, occupation, and employment”, according to minister Ith Samheng’s April 21 statement.
He instructed the institutions to cooperate with civil society organisations, unions and the private sector to share his directive.
“All participants should select appropriate locations to share banners and signs to mark the occasion,” said the directive.
Separately, the Phnom Penh Municipal Administration held an April 21 meeting to discuss a proposed Labour Day march by several unions and their supporters.
During the meeting, Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC) president Ath Thorn said 10 trade unions and labour associations proposed to organise a labour day celebration, themed “Together to promote labour rights and the freedom of trade unions”, from 6:30am to midday.
“About 2,000 participants would like to gather at the park in front of the Council for the Development of Cambodia [CDC] and march along Sisowath
Quay towards the National Assembly, where we will submit several petitions,” he said.
However, Phnom Penh deputy governor Mean Chanyada said that permission for the march had been declined, for two reasons.
“First, International Labour Day is a public holiday, so lawmakers will not be present to receive the petitions, unless they are specifically invited to be. More significantly, there are concerns that the march will affect traffic congestion and public order,” he said.
“The City Hall is always happy to assist applicants with the coordination of their Labour Day celebrations, and has done so several times in recent years,” he added.