"Interior Minister calls for study on injured migrant workers", 25 April 2019

Interior Minister Sar Kheng has ordered immigration officials to investigate cases of returning migrant workers who were injured overseas, especially cases involving those who worked in Thailand.

Last year, the Foreign Affairs Ministry repatriated about 9,000 migrant workers who were abused by their employers.

Mr Kheng’s order was made ... after he learned that some migrant workers return to the Kingdom injured.

“Whether they were undocumented or not, they were sent home through an international checkpoint disabled. This is an issue that we regret, and is very painful,” Mr Kheng said. “They leave the Kingdom physically able, but when they return, they return with broken legs, broken hands, or injured eyes. So it’s a tragedy that we cannot ignore.”...

“Between 50 and 80 people are sent back every day. That’s the reason why we created the migrant worker holding centre in Poipet city – we want to find the people behind human trafficking,” he said. “We also want to help victims of human trafficking.”

Dy Thehoya, programme officer at the Centre for Alliance of Labour and Human Rights, ... said he welcomes the government’s concern regarding injured migrant workers.

“The government has to consider human rights abuses in host countries, especially embassy representatives. They must lodge complaints and demand compensation on behalf of the victims,” Mr Thehoya said...

... Labour Minister Ith Samheng in the past said that currently, 1.2 million Cambodian migrant workers earn money in Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong...

Mr Samheng noted that there were 105 private recruitment agencies licensed by the Labour Ministry to recruit, train, send and manage migrant workers abroad.