"Unions boycott discussion on Labor Law amendments", 15 September 2020

Several unions and federations boycotted a meeting with garment industry and government representatives … to discuss amendments to the Labor Law that the unions say will harm the interests of garment and footwear industry workers.

Mann Seng Hak, vice president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), said that after holding a meeting …, six independent unions and union federations agreed to boycott the meeting with Labor Ministry and Garment Manufactures’ Association in Cambodia (GMAC) representatives.

“We did not attend the meeting because we are unhappy with their disregard for workers’ interests,” Seng Hak said…

“Article 144 related to night shift work was amended once in 2007 from 200 percent to 130 percent [pay] and now in 2020, they want to amend it again from 130 percent to 100 percent, so it will be a lost benefit,” Seng Hak said.

… The six union groups that joined the boycott include the Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW), Cambodian Labor Confederation (CLC), Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union (CCAWDU), Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU), Confederation of Cambodian Worker Movement (CCW) and FTUWKC.

In a joint statement …, the six union groups said they had attended two previous tripartite meetings on the amendments …, and on both occasions had demanded that the ministry drop the proposed changes.

… GMAC Secretary-General Ken Loo, who attended the meeting, said feedback was presented by all relevant parties during the discussions presided over by Samheng…