"Great Duke Labor Dispute Continues Following Protests, Arbitration", 12 May 2020

The owner of the closed Great Duke Hotel in Phnom Penh has until Friday to settle a month-long dispute with former employees, a Labor Ministry official said after the ex-staff resumed protests this week and were earlier awarded compensation by arbiters.

Ou Ratana, an official in charge of labor dispute interventions, told ... that the Labor Ministry would take legal action against the hotel owner if by Friday the employer had failed to comply with a decision in favor of workers reached by the Arbitration Council ...

A meeting ... between former hotel employees, the owner and Labor Ministry officials yielded no solution “because the employer said they don’t have money because of Covid-19,” Ratana said.

“We will give the employer a chance to consider the possibility of paying the workers based on the Arbitration Council’s decision,” he said, ...

Chhoam Samphors, a former cook at the Great Duke who attended the negotiations, said workers and the hotel owner could not come to a resolution on Tuesday because the owner insisted he could not pay the compensation awarded...

Ratana from the Labor Ministry ... adding that the ministry would examine the Great Duke owners’ compliance with the dispute settlement...

Chhorn Sokha, a representative of labor rights group Central, said the government should push the owner to fulfill its obligation to workers in order to avoid more protests and resulting costs to both former employees and the owner...