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Union-employer row hits Cambodian garment industry
04 May '12
2 min read
Cambodian garment industry is striving to get a sigh of relief from the frequently occurring incidences of violent strikes.
All garment industry stakeholders including employers, unions and the Ministry of Labour have been called on by the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to initiate joint efforts to stop incidents of violent protests in the garment industry.
The Prime Minister's call followed a request by the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce and the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) to help them battle the violent strikes that they claimed were being instigated by workers' unions.
President of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions said the only reason behind the violence incidences is that the employers are not honouring the labour law or rulings of the Arbitration Council and were behaving in a prejudiced manner with the union leaders.
In such situations, he said, they are left with no other option but resort to strike and demonstrations, to get their issues addressed.
Secretary General of GMAC, Ken Loo, said the Prime Minister has indirectly acted on the association and the Chamber of Commerce's plea, but that is not enough and more efforts need to be made to avoid any further violent strikes by workers. He said it is now only for the unions to decide whether to abide the law, or not.
Addressing a conference involving 4,000 participants representing over 60 union groups, President of the Cambodian Labour Union Federation, Som Aun, said every stakeholder should try to improve the atmosphere in the garment sector.
According to ILO, over 1,500 people lose their lives in work-related accidents, while around 3,000 fall prey to work-related diseases in Cambodia each year.
All garment industry stakeholders including employers, unions and the Ministry of Labour have been called on by the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to initiate joint efforts to stop incidents of violent protests in the garment industry.
The Prime Minister's call followed a request by the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce and the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) to help them battle the violent strikes that they claimed were being instigated by workers' unions.
President of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions said the only reason behind the violence incidences is that the employers are not honouring the labour law or rulings of the Arbitration Council and were behaving in a prejudiced manner with the union leaders.
In such situations, he said, they are left with no other option but resort to strike and demonstrations, to get their issues addressed.
Secretary General of GMAC, Ken Loo, said the Prime Minister has indirectly acted on the association and the Chamber of Commerce's plea, but that is not enough and more efforts need to be made to avoid any further violent strikes by workers. He said it is now only for the unions to decide whether to abide the law, or not.
Addressing a conference involving 4,000 participants representing over 60 union groups, President of the Cambodian Labour Union Federation, Som Aun, said every stakeholder should try to improve the atmosphere in the garment sector.
According to ILO, over 1,500 people lose their lives in work-related accidents, while around 3,000 fall prey to work-related diseases in Cambodia each year.
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