Protesters in Svay Rieng demand reinstatement of union representatives
SOME 500 workers on Wednesday protested in front of t heir factor y at t he GIGA special economic zone in Svay Rieng prov ince’s Svay Teap district to demand the reinstatement of t hree representatives who intended to form a trade union.
Phon Mesa, one of t he workers’ representatives from the Phnom Penh-based Collective Union of Movement of Workers ( CUMW), said he and the other t wo were dismissed af ter announcing t heir candidacy for union leadership at t he Bai Hong factor y, which produces lamps in Svay Teap dist r ict’s Kandieng Reay commune.
Mesa said the factory cited contract expiry as the reason behind their dismissals on Tuesday.
The planned creation of the union was intended to protect workers’ interests, he said, claiming t he factor y had abused labour law by forcing unpaid overtime on workers and frequently insulted t hem.
“The company fired me wit hout a clear reason. It’s unfair because I’ve done nothing wrong – union formation is supported by the law. I’ll lead t he protest until the company re-hires me,” he said.
CUMW president Pav Sina said the sacking was an act of discrimination with utter disregard for the law.
“The dismissa l of [union] leaders or activ ists at loca l level is happening again and again a lt hough t he right to create unions is guaranteed by the law – something company owners don’t seem to care about,” he said.
Svay Rieng prov incia l Labour and Vocationa l Training Department director Has Bunthy said the body is mediating between the two parties.
“We are mediating in this case, but we don’t know when a solution will be reached. We have to wait and see while t he negotiations are ongoing.
“As fa r as I know, t he sacked workers were still on probation, so the company has t he right to recruit more qualified workers.
“We are mediators so we want the owner to rehire [the sacked workers] to avoid protests,” he said.
Bai Hong currently employs 1,000 workers.
A company representative could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.