"Factory workers seek help as ministry says owner did not file notice", 8 September 2020

While hundreds of workers from the shuttered Violet Apparel factory submitted a petition to the European Union’s Delegation to Cambodia seeking help securing unpaid benefits, a ministry official has said that the factory’s owner has not filed the necessary paperwork exempting him from paying workers...

Ung Chanthoeun, a worker representative at Violet Apparel (Cambodia)., Ltd factory, said she and about 200 others delivered a petition to the EU’s delegation in Phnom Penh asking that they push European brands produced at the factory to help workers secure benefit payments.

“We submit the petition to the European Union because Violet Apparel factory produces brands of clothes including Nike, C&A, and Carter to export to the EU,” Chanthoeun said, adding that the group had filed several petitions since July seeking a resolution from the Labor Ministry and prime minister’s cabinet...

In May, the owner of Phnom Penh-based Violet Apparel had promised to pay workers their last salary and compensation, and seniority indemnity, annual leave, and notice payments. But on July 1, they rescinded their offer to cover notice payments and compensation.

Days later, the owner suddenly announced that the company would close permanently and that they would only be able to cover three benefits, leading to protests outside the factory...