Sacked Cambodian Garment Workers Reinstated After Protest‎

Jakarta Globe - AFP, September 9, 2013

Cambodian garment workers walk on a street during a protest in
Phnom Penh. (EPA Photo/Mak Remisa)

Phnom Penh. Hundreds of Cambodian garment workers sacked from a factory supplying brands including Gap and H&M were reinstated Friday, a union leader said, after a protest forced an apparent climbdown by their employer.

Around 4,000 workers marched through Phnom Penh on Thursday in protest at the dismissal of 720 workers for going on strike over claims of intimidation by the factory owner.

They were reinstated while an apparent suspension of 5,000 other staff was lifted by the Singapore-owned SL Garment Processing factory on Friday, union leader Ath Thorn told AFP.

“After a long negotiation, the company agreed to withdraw the dismissal and allow all workers to resume their work today (Friday), Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union, said.

Workers had walked out claiming intimidation over regular factory inspections carried out by an official flanked by military police.

The factory denied the allegations and said the workers were fired because their strike was illegal.

Chin Sao, a manager at the factory, confirmed the workers had returned to their posts.

“I’m happy that we are partners again,” he said.

Disputes over wages, safety and conditions in Cambodia’s lucrative garment industry are frequent.

The multi-billion dollar industry employs about 650,000 people and is a key source of foreign income for the impoverished country.

Currently workers can earn around $110 a month with overtime.

In July the International Labor Organization (ILO) accused Cambodia of backsliding in efforts to improve working conditions in the sector.

The kingdom was failing to make progress in areas such as worker and fire safety and the use of child labor, the ILO said in a report.

Concerns over worker safety intensified in May after a ceiling collapse killed two workers at a Taiwanese-owned shoe factory.

Agence France-Presse