"“Release Wing Star Shoes Union Leader Chea Chan”, CATU Pleads With Kampong Speu Court", 30 April 2024

The Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) demands that Kampong Speu Provincial Court drop the criminal charge against Chea Chan, union president of Wing Star Shoes, and release him. CATU alleged that Chan’s arrest was related to the abuse of the judiciary to stifle his freedom of association.

Chan’s case was to be heard on April 29 but was postponed to an undetermined date in May. It was learnt that the prosecution witnesses did not appear in court.

… Chan was charged with conspiracy to commit theft after he was unanimously voted by workers as the in-house union leader in Wing Star Shoes, but he was detained … at work by Kampong Speu provincial police. The authorities allegedly failed to produce any summons or evidence to support the arrest.

Some 40 union members gathered with banners … before the Kampong Speu Provincial Court to observe the trial. One banner read, “Chea Chan is not guilty as alleged by the company. Stop the arbitrary arrest and detention.”

CATU president Yang Sophorn alleged that the criminal case against Chan may be a “pre-arrangement between the employer and authorities” to remove CATU’s local union from the factory.

She said before the lawsuit was filed by the company, she and Chan received threats on the phone from unidentified individuals, warning them “not to form a union in the factory.”

… CATU member Met Samphors, 40, said he came to court to support Chan and monitor his trial, stressing that the case was a violation of labor rights, and that the factory has been discriminatory against independent unions…