The Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) is extremely disappointed with Letter No. 460 KB/AK/VK, signed 7 May 2020, of the Department of Labour Disputes which authorised Roo Hsing Garment Co., Ltd. to terminate three CATU members from employment without referring to any clear evidence. According to this letter, the Department of Labour Disputes has authorised Roo Hsing to terminate Mr. Ek Sarun, Vice-President of the local factory union, Mr. Sok Kong, Secretary of the local factory union and Mr. Kon Soch, an assistant shop steward and a local union activist.
On 13 April 2020, Roo Hsing accused the three above CATU members of having met together to form a plan to stop work together on 9 April 2020 in order for the company to allow workers to go home during Khmer New Year. On 9 April 2020, workers in the finishing section stopped work for almost two hours.
The Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions would like to publicly confirm that, of the more-than-400 workers who stopped work on 9 April, CATU has extremely few members. Additionally, up to the present day, CATU does not know the reason why those sections stopped work, as CATU’s local union was not related to this work stoppage. In particular, the three CATU members above never formed plans or incited other workers as accused by the company.
Since the time that the company requested to suspend the employment of the three workers above, our local union affiliate has attempted to meet with the company in order to discuss and resolve this case. However, the company has continually refused to meet with us. We truly believe that this case can be resolved through good faith negotiation between the company and the union, however, we have also observed that the company has never exhibited a spirit of negotiating in good faith with CATU’s local union. Up to now, we have not had any opportunity to inspect or respond to the company’s evidence, including in front of officials of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training.
These terminations will have severe effects for these three workers. Currently, the national economy is facing a decline because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which will make it difficult for them to find work elsewhere. Of these three workers, two of them have infant children who need milk and medical care.
After receiving the Department of Labour Dispute’s letter, we have protested it to the Minister of Labour and Vocational Training in accordance with the Law on Trade Unions. The Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions would like to publicly call on the Minister of Labour and Vocational Training to rescind the Department of Labour Disputes’ decision in order to allow these three CATU members to have income for their families and to continue their work in promoting the rights and interests of employees at Roo Hsing.
The Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions would also like to call on all brands and local trade unions at Roo Hsing to support our demands for the company to reinstate these three CATU members and intervene to have the company resolve this case with us.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Yang Sophorn, President of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions: 012 351 402 / 015 351 402
Mr. Chuon Thea, President of the Cambodian Union of Roo Hsing Garment Co., Ltd: 017 796 867
Done in Phnom Penh, 11 May 2020
Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions