Union Says Strikers Threatened With Lockout

A strike over a fired garment factory worker has dragged on for 10 days, prompting the factory to threaten to lock out workers, the Garment Manufacturers As­so­ciation of Cambodia said Mon­day.

The more than 700 workers at INSM Garment, in the Canadia Park garment and textile complex in Meanchey district, have been on strike since Oct 3, when a worker was fired after he punched a factory manager, union Presi­dent Van Sou Ieng said.

The worker, a union steward whose name was not available, had been reprimanded several times for misusing factory ma­chinery, he said.

Representatives from the Cam­bo­dia Labor Union Feder­ation, the workers’ union, and factory managers were meeting Mon­day afternoon to seek a solution. Workers have agreed to re­turn to the factory if the owners agree to pay compensation to the fired worker, union President Som Aun said.

Workers are also upset at a provision stating that striking workers will have $5 deducted from their monthly pay, said Chan Dara, an adviser to GMAC.

Illegal strikes are common in Cambodian factories, as workers abruptly strike based on perceived injustices and news spread by word of mouth. The Interna­tional Labor Organization is helping to set up an arbitration council and assisting in the establishment of grievance processes to avoid such strikes.

Meanwhile, labor activists are working to set up collective bargaining agreements, contracts that contain provisions to discuss grievances before a strike occurs.

Ministry of Commerce Sec­retary of State Sok Siphana re­cently reported that the number of factories in Cambodia has dropped from 200 to 185. He blamed trade and economic is­sues, rather than union activism or strikes.

“To me, the closure of five to 10 percent of garment factories is no­thing to take time to worry about,” he said.

The garment industry has created 200,000 jobs in the last six years, Sok Siphana said

. But the Ministry of Planning reports that 220,000 people mature to working age each year. Jobs must be found for those people or they will turn to crime, Sok Siphana said.