The Agriculture Ministry has announced its decision to dissolve the 34 “solidarity groups” that operate state-owned but privately managed rubber plantations in Ratanakkiri province.
Solidarity groups were formed in the 1980s to take care of the day-to-day running of state-owned rubber plantations in the province.
In 2000, the government privatized the plantations in Ratanakkiri, selling the rights to harvest the resin to private company Tai Seng Rubber Co. By virtue of that concession, plantation workers were required by law to sell resin to solidarity group chiefs who then, in turn, were bound to sell the resin exclusively to Tai Seng.
For years, the solidarity groups were accused of paying rubber workers only about half of what the resin was worth, and then selling it to Tai Seng themselves for a tidy profit.
According to a copy of the Oct 22 decision dissolving the solidarity groups, which was signed by Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun, the roughly 1,000 workers on the Ratanakkiri plantations will now be under the direct control of Tai Seng.
Tai Seng must cooperate with local authorities and the rubber plantation department director-general in reorganizing the villages and plantation workers formerly under the solidarity groups, according to the directive, which was received Tuesday.
Chan Sarun could not be contacted Tuesday. Agriculture Ministry Secretary of State Teng Lao and Undersecretary of State Uk Sokhonn both said Tuesday that they were unaware of the decision in question.
Tai Seng company director Ly Hong Sin said Tuesday that the decision would ultimately benefit plantation workers as Tai Seng will now pay them 85 percent of the resin’s market value.
“The workers’ living conditions will be better,” he said, adding that he didn’t know when the order would go into effect.
Chhe Chan, co-owner of Solidarity Group 14, accused the Tai Seng company on Tuesday of sending Chan Sarun a petition to dissolve the groups that contained forged workers’ thumbprints.
“This is robbery in a legal way. It will ruin people’s careers and it is against the government policy,” Chhe Chan said.
Ly Hong Sin denied the accusations and added that, according to the 2000 government concession agreement, the Agriculture Ministry has put the workers under Tai Seng’s control.
“I have been asking for this for three or four years,” he said. “I am responsible.”
Pen Bonnar, provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, said that Chan Sarun’s decision would make plantation workers better off.
“The [Tai Seng] company has promised to pay 85 percent, so it is better than the 50 or 55 percent [paid by the solidarity group chiefs],” he said.
“It will be a level they have never received from the solidarity groups.”
