"Payouts raise concerns for garment workers at shuttered factories", 09 April 2018

Garment workers from four factories have raised concerns over compensation packages prepared by the Labour Ministry...claiming the allotments do not match how much was owed to them.

...The ministry announced that it set aside $4.6 million to pay severance workers at nine garment factories that were abruptly shuttered and whose owners absconded....

After announcing...that workers from four factories – Benoh Apparel, Yu Fa Garment Industry, Great Honour Textile Factory and Chung Fai Knitwear – will be compensated...the Labour Ministry posted the compensation amounts at each of the companies....

However, workers have claimed calculations carried out by them and local unions don't match amounts proposed by ministrys documents.

Roeum Saoleap, a worker from Benoh Apparel, said..."Many workers at Benoh now get from $17 to $45 in compensation . . . Unions helped me to calculate that I get around $3,000, but in the list from the Ministry of Labour I get only $41," Saoleap said.

...Compensation for workers takes into consideration five factors: unpaid salary, annual leave, indemnity for dismissal, compensation for failing to provide a notification period and other damages.

..."The ministry responded . . . that the budget the government has is to cover over 4,000 workers so they can't provide everything accurately and they tried their best to pay that amount."