"Factory talks fall through", 02 July 2019

Negotiation between representatives of Now Corp … and its workers fell through … as some of the latter remained adamant that the firm’s latest compensation offer was still too low. Now Corp allegedly terminated the workers’ contracts abruptly … after months of order scarcity. It offered each worker a sum of money as indemnity, ranging between $320 and $450.

The meeting, supervised by provincial Labour Department director Thol Neang, was held … and aimed at finding a solution for some 400 workers who rejected the initial compensation offer.

Following the most recent negotiation, some workers accepted the firm’s new offer, while others did not. The workers were divided into three groups, Neang told ...

One group said they would file a complaint to the Arbitration Council of the Ministry of Labour, another group to the court, while the last one agreed to accept the new offer, ranging between $450 and $500…

Heng Sokha, a workers’ representative who participated in the meeting, said what he and other workers wanted from the firm was a fair amount of their senior indemnity pay…

Khen Sophorn, 31, another representative, reiterated that if there was no acceptable resolution, the workers will stage another protest and seek intervention from the Ministry of Labour’s Arbitration Council…

Neither the factory owner, identified as a South Korean national by some workers, nor the administrative officer could be reached for comment ...

Sieng Sambath, the president of the Worker Friendship Union Federation (WFUF), said … that it was up to the workers to file a complaint to the ministry or the courts.