Tai Seng Rubber Co has announced that rubber plantation workers in Ratanakkiri province’s soon-to-be-disbanded “solidarity groups” have until Nov 5 to register to work with Tai Seng, according to the company’s Director-General Ly Hong Sin.
On Monday, Agriculture Ministry rubber department director Ly Phalla officially announced the dissolving of the 34 solidarity groups, which have controlled 1,300 hectares of state-owned rubber plantation since the 1980s. Control of those plantations will be given to Tai Seng, to which the solidarity groups were already required to sell their resin.
Ly Hong Sin said by telephone Tuesday that his company is now registering solidarity group workers that want to continue working on the plantations.
Those that do not register by Nov 5 will lose the chance to work for the company.
Ly Hong Sin added that anyone who works for Tai Seng will be given 85 percent of the market price for the rubber resin that they collect. That price contrasts with the solidarity group chiefs, who had been paying workers just 50 percent of the market price for their resin.
Solidarity group chiefs representative Chhe Chan reiterated Tuesday that the groups would not leave the plantations unless they receive compensation.
“There are no solutions for the solidarity groups; we don’t leave our plantation,” he said.
“We will fight through legal means.” (Yun Samean)
