15 Arrested at Casino Worker Strike in Cambodia’s Capital

The government and its social media operatives have painted the strike as a foreign-directed plot.

Cambodian police yesterday arrested 15 workers taking part in a weeks-long strike against mass lay-offs by the country’s largest casino in the capital Phnom Penh. The strike outside the reflective gold edifice of the NagaWorld Hotel & Entertainment Complex has drawn hundreds of workers since December 18, pressing their demand for the reinstatement of 365 employees fired in April.

Last year, the Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp began the process of laying off 1,329 employees, which it claims was part of a “mutual separation plan” designed to shore up its profits amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Reuters.

The Labor Rights Supported Union of NagaWorld Employees (LRSU) and its leader Chhim Sithar, who called the strike after months of negotiations failed to produce a resolution, claim that many of those let go were union members and were not compensated properly. Yesterday’s action also called for the release of nine people arrested at the strike on January 1, who have reportedly since been charged with “incitement to cause serious chaos to social security.”

In full: https://thediplomat.com/2022/01/15-arrested-at-casino-worker-strike-in-cambodias-capital/

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