Sacked
Cambodian garment workers reinstated after protest
The
Cambodia Herald – September 06, 2013
PHNOM PENH (AFP) --
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 Labour 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 labour, the ILO said in a report.
Concerns over worker
safety intensified in May after a ceiling collapse killed two workers at a
Taiwanese-owned factory producing shoes for Japanese sports brand Asics.
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