"Statement On The Decision Of The Head Of The Department Of Labour Disputes In Refusing To Resolve The Collective Labour Dispute At Roo Hsing Garment Co., Ltd.", 13 May 2020

The Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) condemns the decision of the Head of the Department of Labour Dispute in refusing to resolve the collective labour dispute of the Cambodian Union of Roo Hsing Garment Co., Ltd as this decision is a case of severe injustice liable to restrict the ability and freedom of the Cambodian Union of Roo Hsing Garment Co., Ltd, as well as other local unions in other factories, in protecting the rights and interests of their members.

…, officials of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions went to the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training with the Cambodian Union of Roo Hsing Garment Co., Ltd to participate in a conciliation of the collective labour dispute which the Cambodian Union of Roo Hsing Garment Co., Ltd submitted to the Head of the Department of Labour Disputes .... However, when we arrived at the conciliation, Ministry officials told us that they requested to remove the second point of demand (which requested the factory reinstated the workers’ representatives and trade union leaders be reinstated) and refused to resolve our collective labour dispute for the reason that the Ministry had determined that this labour dispute was an individual dispute and not a collective labour dispute…

The Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions calls on the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, and in particular, His Excellency Ith Samheng, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training, to reverse this decision and determine this labour dispute as a collective labour dispute.