Approximately 40 Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU) members gathered in front of the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training on the morning of February 21, 2025, to follow up on a complaint they filed in January.
The labor dispute has dragged on for three years with former NagaWorld casino workers still awaiting a resolution from the ministry. They want Minister Heng Sour to see that the dispute is resolved in a fair and transparent manner by urging the NagaWorld management to respect working conditions and abide by trade union rights in accordance with labor laws and International Labor Organization conventions.
About 30 minutes after they gathered, with officials and authorities monitoring and questioning them, a representative was called into the building where they handed over a letter urging for a swift resolution. However, the officer who accepted the letter did not specify a timeline for a response.
Nob Tithboravy, LRSU member and a former Nagaworld employee, told CamboJA News that she and her fellow unionists gathered to follow up on the complaint they submitted to the minister last month.
Although the labor conflict happened almost three years ago, workers have not received justice or a solution to the issue based on labor law, she said, while pointing out three main demands by LRSU to NagaWorld which the ministry must resolve.
They demand that NagaWorld reinstate 29 workers at the Naga Academy training center, 281 workers and 11 Executive Trainee Program members who joined the protest, and 85 others who were laid off unlawfully. All these people must be paid severance pay from the date of termination until the day they return to work, she said.
“I hope the new minister will help to solve this dispute because it has been so long. If he really intends to solve it, I think it won’t take much time,” Tithboravy remarked.
She said NagaWorld used the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to terminate more than 1,000 workers, most of them LRSU members. Hence the reason why they are exercising their right under the law to demand their jobs and benefits.
Another striker, Nam Tivorn, told CamboJA News that it has been 1,127 days since they started striking. He has yet to see a resolution from the ministry or the company.
Tivorn denied rumors that workers had received a resolution, stressing that no solution was provided under labor law.
“It is a rumor to confuse the public, and unfair to the workers who are victims,” Tivorn said.
He criticized those “who are allowing the dispute to continue”, saying it disrespects Cambodian labor law and enables foreign employers to overlook local workers, harming the government’s reputation.
“The ministry can’t allow NagaWorld owners to disrespect Cambodia’s law. We want NagaWorld to solve this labor dispute in accordance with the law, not by using money to ask us to stop the strike,” Tivorn said.
Yang Sophorn, President of Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions, told CamboJA News, that the dispute which has prolonged for three years without any resolution has caused so much suffering to the workers.
“For me, if we look at the rights of the worker – when they face any dispute, it means they’re asking for a solution or an intervention from the ministry but this has carried on for so long, yet they have not seen any solution,” said Sophorn.
To date, the ministry has helped to come up with a solution around 21 times, but has not been able to reach a satisfactory agreement. Sophorn thinks that the solution demanded by the workers is “far” from the one the company and ministry is proposing. So, workers choose to exercise their right to strike and demand what is rightful under the law.
“They just want to fight for union rights at the workplace. So, the workers’ willingness is clear but look at the solution they received in terms of being offered money and asking them to stop from their job ,” said Sophorn.
Meanwhile, Katta Orn, spokesperson of the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, said they have made several attempts to resolve the labor dispute of former Nagaworld employees according to the dispute resolution procedures stipulated in the labor law.
“Therefore, please note that the ministry no longer has the authority to resolve this case. If the workers are not satisfied, they can file a lawsuit in court, which is the last resort to end the dispute,” Orn told CamboJA News.
He said out of 378 employees, 293 agreed to accept the severance payment solution, leaving 80 workers who have yet to accept it. Most of the 80 workers already have jobs, so only 20 are protesting, he explained.
“The important thing is that the workers understand the dispute resolution procedure. You cannot return to the starting point, so the only way to continue the process is to file a lawsuit in court to resolve the dispute,” Orn said.
LRSU members have been protesting since December 2021 against NagaWorld’s decision to implement mass layoffs in the middle of a pandemic. The termination included LRSU’s senior leadership, including president Chhim Sithar, and a large number of members.
Sithar was later charged for incitement to commit a felony or disturb social security, and sentenced to two years imprisonment in 2023. She was released on September 16, 2024.
According to LICADHO, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged eight other people associated with the LRSU and convicted them in 2023. It added that since beginning of the strike, workers were allegedly subjected to physical, verbal and sexual assault by local authorities and security personnel.
