Workers at Chinese-owned Y&W Garment Co Ltd remain sceptical despite Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training’s promise to resolve the issue of missed wages and benefits after the factory owner ran away.
“I don’t believe their promise but I’ll wait to see how they perform. However, I hope that the ministry and the authorities will fulfil their promise [in return] after asking the workers to stop protesting and wait for a timely solution,” said Bunthorn, who worked in Y&W for almost seven years.
On March 12, 2024, the ministry announced that Phnom Penh Municipal Court had issued a temporary order to seize the factory assets to compensate workers, following a protection order request on March 11, 2024.
The Ministry of Commerce, Council for the Development of Cambodia, General Department of Taxation and the police have also been roped in to find out more about the owner and arrest him if he is still in the country.
Alternatively, a court order would be sent to the company’s main office in its home country to assume responsibility for the factory’s situation in Cambodia, the Labor and Vocational Training Ministry said.
In the statement, the ministry mentioned that it received “suspicious information” that the “employer had run away”. On February 19, the ministry and local authorities communicated with Y&W workers to verify the details, share updates and set the company to use the funds in the e-accounts to pay the first salary of February 2024.
At the time, the ministry asked the company accountant to continue contacting the owner but the latter could not be reached. The ministry concluded that the employer had absconded without paying workers’ salaries and benefits.
Following that, the ministry began discussion with relevant bodies, local authorities and workers’ representatives to come up with the “best and fastest procedure” to resolve the problem in accordance with the law. Based on the efforts that were being made, some 4,500 workers out of 4,889 total workers understood and agreed to wait for a legal settlement, the ministry said.
According to the ministry, five individuals allegedly intended to give “false information” to the workers, which is why some 300 workers are worried about the loss of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) benefits.
To avoid further misinformation, the ministry highlighted a few measures to assure workers that efforts were being taken to help them. This includes the reassurance that workers would still receive their NSSF benefits for up to three months.
The ministry will also publicly notify workers when the sale of factory assets is due while the National Employment Agency (NEA) is deployed to immediately provide new jobs for workers so that they continue to receive some income. Local authorities will urge their landlords to refrain from collecting rent as workers wait for settlement.
The ministry also reminded individuals to immediately stop making statements that “misrepresent” the law with the intention of inciting workers to act against the law.
“The ministry does not exempt employers who flee the factory, even if they have fled to their hometowns. At the same time, the ministry will not exempt any person who continues to [wrongly] clarify the law and incite workers to act illegally.”
Responding to the workers’ strike, Thoeun Bunthorn, who has been working at Y&W for seven years, said there were no individuals or groups that tried to incite the workers in the factory. The peaceful strike was held to demand a solution to the problems faced by the workers.
Thus, he rejected the ministry’s allegations that “five people provided information that confused the workers”. “It did not happen in reality, they just protested to seek a solution.”
The workers felt that the ministry only promised to help them and remain calm just so they could stop the strike. A few of them who spoke to CamboJA were concerned about the loss of livelihood. They are not sure how they are going to afford daily expenses, loan repayments, rental and utility bills, thus urging the ministry and stakeholders to expedite a resolution.
Chuor Savdy, 42, who worked at the factory for 10 years, expressed regret over the factory closure which used to provide them with jobs to support their families. “I can’t believe the factory has gone bankrupt.”
While she was optimistic with the ministry’s effort to solve their problem, she was concerned about finding new work in other factories.
“I am worried about finding a job in another factory because they do not recruit older people but young people to work.”
Chin Panha urged the ministry to keep their promise and provide a solution for workers before the eve of Khmer New Year in April as she is concerned it would affect her livelihood if the issue continued.
“The workers have been doing this job for many years for the factory. I hope the settlement of salaries and benefits will be provided before the Khmer New Year as we don’t have any money to return to our hometowns,” said Panha, who worked at Y&W for eight years.
Union representative Phan Borey said no strikes were organized on Wednesday after labor ministry representatives and relevant authorities urged the workers to stop their protest, pending a resolution.
“As of Thursday, there were no strikes, as there was a compromise between the officers who mediated on Wednesday. They told the workers to wait for a solution from the ministry, stop the strike and follow procedures.”
Borey mentioned that he will continue to monitor the resolution efforts, while calling for a quick settlement.
Meanwhile, ministry spokesman Kata Orn said the review of the workers’ proposal for their salaries to be paid by March 20 was ongoing. The workers claimed that the ministry “promised” to pay them on March 20.
Calling the claim “confusing”, Kata said when the workers were met on February 12, they were only promised that their proposal for payment by the March date would be taken to the management for “review only”.
On Wednesday afternoon, the court, ministry officials, the local authority, and workers’ representatives participated in the implementation of the temporary protection order to confiscate Y&W’s assets. This was to ensure that sale of the assets would provide adequate compensation for over 4,000 workers.
When asked to specify an exact time for compensation, Orn said it would depend on the court procedure.
Khun Tharo, program manager for the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), sees it as a top priority for the authorities to expedite the sale of the assets to address the workers’ basic issues.
He also felt that the authorities should not make accusations against the workers or groups which are advocating peaceful solutions.
“[Looking at] what the workers are going through, I think the solution should come in good faith by working to find solutions that protect workers’ interests, rather than accusing them of [starting] a color revolution,” he said. “I don’t think it is right.”
He added that it was the fundamental right of workers to protest and urge stakeholders to seek solutions. As a civil society organization which promotes human and labor rights, CENTRAL does not support any form of roadblock which affects public order.
At the moment, his organization is studying the possibility of engaging foreign buyers, he told CamboJA.
Recalling a comment by a worker who said they only received information of the bankruptcy from their employer on March 1, Tharo opined that this was a weakness of the state authorities’ inspections.
He said in the past, the authorities had a well-established method that could predict a company’s financial performance.
