The Foreign Affairs Ministry repatriated two maids and nine factory workers from Malaysia on Friday and Saturday after they complained of difficult working conditions, according to a ministry statement released on Monday.
“Due to difficulties at work, they asked the Cambodian Embassy” for help to return home, said ministry spokesman Chum Sounry.
Nine of the Cambodians were working illegally at a plastics factory, while two others worked elsewhere as maids, the statement said.
One of the maids entered Malaysia with the help of a Cambodian company in March, it said, in an apparent violation of a ban on Cambodian migration to Malaysia for domestic work handed down by Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2011 after allegations of abuse and poor working conditions in the country.
The statement did not provide the name or legal status of the company.
So far this year, the ministry has repatriated 209 migrant workers from Malaysia, up sharply from 55 repatriations last year, according to ministry data.
Earlier this month, Labor Ministry officials said they were close to finalizing a deal to resume the employment of Cambodian maids in Malaysia.
