Employers, unions and labor ministry officials met Tuesday to discuss establishing a council to arbitrate collective labor disputes.
Cambodian labor law established in 1997 provides for appeal to an arbitration panel and a labor court if mediation by labor ministry officials fails, but neither body has been established.
A draft law discussed Wednesday proposes a 15-member council with an equal number of members appointed by unions, employers and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. Members could not be ministry staff, union members or members of employers’ associations.
Disputes would be settled within 15 days by three-member panels, with each of the three groups appointing one member.
Workers or employers may sign agreements to make the rulings binding. But even without an agreement, the case might still go to court or result in a legal strike.
US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Alex Arvizu urged that the draft law be approved as soon as possible so that the council could start work by the end of the year.
But a legal adviser at the hearing warned that in cases when the arbitration does not solve the matter, workers and employers have to rely on a flawed court.
“Binding arbitration is difficult when the courts cannot be relied upon,” said the adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The law was drafted by the International Labor Organization as part of a $500,000-plus US-funded project to help resolve labor disputes before they result in strikes or violence.
Though some past labor disputes have been arbitrated, many others have deteriorated into walkouts, strikes and brawls outside of factories that result in injuries and damaged property.
While some see these as necessary growing pains for Cambodia‘s young garment industry—one of the country’s few sources of revenue—others say the incidents indicate a disorganized and unruly labor movement that is easily moved to sometimes crippling protests over minor misunderstandings.
