Monday, 20 September 2010
James O'Toole
The Phnom Penh Post
THOUSANDS of garment workers are to return to work after a coordinated strike to protest the industry’s newly established minimum wage was called off in its fourth day last week.
Investors are breathing easier with the work stoppage at an end, but tension in the industry remains. On Saturday, unionists said police in Phnom Penh and Kandal province broke up demonstrations against the suspension of two dozen union members, injuring 12; the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, meanwhile, says it is pursuing lawsuits against union leaders in relation to the strike.
Organisers said that the work stoppage encompassed more than 200,000 of the sector’s 345,000 workers, though observers said the actual figure was likely closer to GMAC’s estimate of 30,000. In any case, as the sector moves on from the conflict, industry analysts say improvements in Cambodia’s labour-relations framework are needed to minimise disruptions on a similar scale in the future.
“The problem with Cambodia is, it’s great to see the activism and dynamism that occurred this week, but it’s in far too many cases the only action at people’s disposal,” said
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Investors are breathing easier with the work stoppage at an end, but tension in the industry remains. On Saturday, unionists said police in Phnom Penh and Kandal province broke up demonstrations against the suspension of two dozen union members, injuring 12; the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, meanwhile, says it is pursuing lawsuits against union leaders in relation to the strike.
Organisers said that the work stoppage encompassed more than 200,000 of the sector’s 345,000 workers, though observers said the actual figure was likely closer to GMAC’s estimate of 30,000. In any case, as the sector moves on from the conflict, industry analysts say improvements in Cambodia’s labour-relations framework are needed to minimise disruptions on a similar scale in the future.
“The problem with Cambodia is, it’s great to see the activism and dynamism that occurred this week, but it’s in far too many cases the only action at people’s disposal,” said
Please click here to read more...
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