"Y&W Workers’ Protest Persist Despite Compensation, R.G Footwear Declares Bankruptcy After Fire", 22 March 2024

Some 1,000 workers of Chinese-owned Y&W Garment in Phnom Penh continue to block the road in protest, demanding that the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training pay “repair of damage” on top of compensation, seeing that the owner ran away.

At the same time, Kandal province-based R.G Footwear, which was destroyed by fire …, has declared bankruptcy, leaving 2,205 workers clueless as to their future…

Despite the announcement of a settlement and the fixing of a payment date by the ministry, hundreds of workers continued protesting at the Baku light station in Dangkor district, calling for compensation in the form of “repair of damage” as their employer ran away.

… Khun Tharo, program manager for the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), said the organization is directly verifying Y&W’s relationship with the customers who used to order from it, such as Nike.

… Meanwhile, R.G Footwear, a subsidiary of Li Yuen Footwear (Holding) Co Ltd, which issued a statement to workers …, following the fire, said they are “completely in a serious crisis”. They “cannot restore the situation, so the company has gone bankrupt”.

There were 2,205 workers working at R.G Footwear. In the statement, the factory said …, they had already paid five percent of benefits to 918 workers. The company would pay the wages no later than April 10, 2024.

“The company is still looking for ways to pay workers, so workers do not have to worry about wages,” the factory said.

R.G Footwear produces shoes for Brunt Footwear in the US and Puma of Germany…