By Tep Nimol
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Phnom Penh Post
More than 700 workers at the SH International factory in the capital’s
Po Sen Chey district have vowed to keep striking, despite the Ministry
of Labour saying it could not help solve their dispute because their
demands were “excessive”.
Garment workers stage a peaceful protest outside the SH International
Company’s factory in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photo by Vireak Mai
The workers protested again yesterday outside the Choam Chao
factory, calling for two administration officials and two sewing line
leaders to be sacked.
Lay Sokha, vice president of the Free Trade
Union (FTU) at SH, said the workers also want a $10 transportation
allowance, a $10 rental bonus, a $10 incentive bonus and for their basic
salary to be increased to $70.
“The workers’ requests were not
settled – they stood outside the factory waiting for the company to
negotiate with them,” she said.
Va Yuvawathana, director of the
labour dispute office at the Ministry of Labour, said he had not been
able to help the workers and SH factory reach an agreement because the
workers’ demands were “excessive”.
“The request for the removal
of administration officials and sewing line leaders was an individual
dispute, and asking for an increase in the basic salary to $70 is
contrary to the law that states that $61 [is what factories have to
pay],” he said. “The incentive they wanted was $10 – the law states it
is as $7.”
Va Yuvawathana said, however, that he had submitted the case to the Arbitration Council.
It
was better news for about 100 workers at the Ford Glory factory in the
capital’s Meanchey district yesterday, who spent the morning protesting
and burning tyres but ultimately saw the company agree to reinstate Muth
Ravorn, a worker fired after being appointed as a union leader early
this month.
According to Sam Oeun, president of the Union
Federation for Labour Rights, the company also agreed to increase
workers’ attendance bonuses from $8 to $10.
The protesters will return to work today, but plan to keep fighting for better conditions they had demanded, he said.
Bi Chanrany, administration chief of Ford Glory, could not be reached for comment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tep Nimol at tep.nimol@phnompenhpost.com
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