The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training rejected all 13 requests made by the workers of Zhen Tai Garment Cambodia Co Ltd, which the workers say was unfair to them. They have asked relevant parties to come up with a detailed solution to their case.
In July, workers at Zhen Tai in Phnom Penh accused the company of “embezzling” workers’ pensions. They have been waiting for 11 months for a settlement.
The ministry invited workers and company representatives to discuss on July 31, 2024, but no agreement was reached. The workers demanded that Zhen Tai resolve 13 issues, one of them being the speeding up of the NSSF payment deficit.
CamboJA News obtained a letter issued by the ministry’s Labor Dispute Department to the workers stating that in the course of the settlement process they received a letter from the representative of the employer confirming the workers’ claims in the complaint.
However, the claims were “opposite” to the situation faced by the workers who “placed their thumbprint” on the complaint. The letter also included a list of workers who resigned from the company a while ago.
In addition, the letter outlined the legal responsibility of a workers’ representatives, which was to review the complaint to ensure accuracy and truth of the workers’ concerns.
It said claims which did not arise from actual situations or workers who put their thumbprint in any “arbitrary” way without the knowledge of the person concerned is considered incitement or an illegal action according to the law and regulations.
Mech Sienghai, 38, who has worked in Zhen Tai for 12 years, told CamboJA News that the ministry responded “very quickly” without any direct investigation or speaking to the factory workers. It also agreed with the factory, she lamented.
“I think it is very unfair to us. I want to say that on behalf of the workers, when I learnt about the problems in the factory, as well as workers’ concerns, I took and submitted them to the ministry but both the company and ministry rejected them,” she said.
Sienghai urged the ministry to take the middle ground in addressing the issue, and not be biased towards the company or reject the workers’ claims.
She also wants the ministry to issue an explanation letter to the workers on the company objecting to the workers’ request and evidence in response to the workers’ reply.
Similarly, Choy Solap, 37, who has worked at Zhen Tai for seven years, told CamboJA News that the workers felt that the ministry’s response did not reflect the actual situation.
“As workers, we put our thumbprint [on a letter] submitted by the workers’ representatives to ask the ministry to resolve the issue. But the ministry agreed with the factory, which had fewer objections than the workers.
“We want the ministry to be fair, not just to the company,” Solap said, proposing their next step would be to ask the ministry to visit the factory and see for themselves as the workers do not want further problems with the management.
Kem Sophen, president of Cambodia Worker’s Spirit Union at the garment factory, opined that the decision was unfair to them as a workers’ representative to propose a solution.
“I would like to ask the Labor Minister to carefully examine the officials who work under him to see how they work. It has also been a long time since our protest letter. Will there be a solution moving forward?” he said.
He suggested that the ministry find a direct solution for workers in the factory. “Whether the proposal is correct or not, as a union, we want to see the ministry deal with it in a neutral way,” Sophen said.
Meanwhile, Zhen Tai administrative director Bo Bunly told CamboJA News that when the workers placed their thumbprint, the union told the workers to ask the company to build toilets, provide money at the end of the year, repair the road to prevent flooding during heavy rain, and others.
The actual submission consisted of 18 points, Bunly said, noting that there were many other points which the workers did not know about, for instance a complaint to the administration and team leader. “The workers themselves were not aware,” he commented via Telegram.
“I also do not know for sure whether they are a union which protects the workers’ interests or are they just doing it for the factory to deal with them for personal gain,” he replied.
