A garment factory is facing fines and a court complaint for its failure to reinstate fired union leaders, a Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor official said last week.
Splendid Chance International Ltd has run out of time to uphold a long-standing agreement with the ministry to restore two men fired for allegedly intimidating workers, Huot Chanthy, the ministry’s director of labor inspection, said Thursday.
Labor Ministry Secretary of State Say Siphon gave the Russei Keo district factory an ultimatum last month: Reinstate and pay Kim Yong and Ly Bunsao within 15 days, or pay a fine and go to court.
Say Siphon issued the warning Nov 19, four months after manager Lin Chih Wen agreed to reinstate two leaders of the Cambodian Coalition of Apparel Workers Democratic Union.
The Labor Law stipulates that union leaders may be fired only after the case is tried in court.
Splendid Chance has bucked the ministry’s order because it claims the Coalition did not comply with laws for establishing unions, factory lawyer Kim Youn said. Also, Lin Chih Wen only agreed to reinstate the workers because of pressure from the Labor Ministry, she said.
Splendid Chance has filed a complaint at Phnom Penh Municipal Court to invalidate the union’s operating license and will not reinstate the workers until a verdict is issued, Kim Youn said. She added that the manager has not restored the leaders because their intimidation upset employees.
Union federation president Chhorn Sokha, in a letter Tuesday, requested Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh to intervene.
“In case there is no solution, the union will hold a non-violent demonstration,” she warned.
Chhorn Sokha said the Labor Ministry does little to punish violators of the Labor Law, alleging that the threat to Splendid Chance was an empty promise made to impress US labor inspectors visiting in November. The US’ assessment of garment industry working conditions helped determine next year’s US garment quota size.
“The factory and the ministry are working together. They want to cheat the US for more quota only,” Chhorn Sokha said.
