"Government warns union leader for allegedly inciting Cintri strike", 9 October 2020

The Labor Ministry has warned a union federation president for allegedly violating the Labor Law, accusing him of inciting workers from trash collection firm Cintri to go on strike to pressure their employer into guaranteeing their benefits and final pay should they lose their jobs.

In a letter sent … to Touch Kosal, president of the Cambodia Tourism Workers’ Union Federation (CTWUF), the ministry alleged he had led the strike by about 2,000 Cintri workers, which began …, and ordered him to stop his activities.

“He has acted contrary to federal statutes, led others to strike illegally, and incited workers/employees to commit serious mistakes,” the letter reads…

“In the event that there is no change [in his behavior] or if [he] violates this warning letter, your professional organization may be sued and dissolved or other measures will be taken as required by law,” the letter said.

… Kosal said the ministry’s accusations were baseless …

“I think that their accusations against [me] are clearly without evidence and they are just blaming me,” he said. “It is very unjust and I cannot accept it.”

… Kao Savat, president of Cintri’s chapter of the CTWUF, confirmed that he had asked Kosal to help with negotiations due to his knowledge of the law, but that he had not attended the first negotiations ...

According to minutes from the … meeting between Cintri workers and management, and officials from City Hall and the labor and environment ministries, the company said it would follow the Labor Law to respond to workers’ demands…