“Paychecks Delayed for Garment Factory Workers in Quarantine”, 13 April 2021

Phnom Penh’s Din Han Enterprise garment factory, which has seen hundreds of workers test positive for Covid-19, is struggling to pay last month’s paychecks to workers placed in lockdown.

… [W]ith workers unable to leave lockdown, the factory was finding it difficult to confirm their payment details or otherwise get the money to them, a factory administrator said.

In the meantime, some workers said they were struggling to make ends meet.

Din Han has become one of the epicenters of Phnom Penh’s recent surge in coronavirus cases, which saw more than 1,000 new patients identified over two days late last week…

“Our problem is that we lack the money to pay for the purchase of food,” Seang said. He and other workers were struggling to meet their expenses, he said, though he added that the commune administration had provided food and some other basic supplies on Sunday.

Labor Ministry spokesperson Heng Sour could not be reached for comment.

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Hun Sen promised that the government would provide 300,000 riel, or about $75, 25 kg of rice and a box of instant noodles per family placed in quarantine. Residents of locked down areas would also be exempt from paying water and electricity bills for two months, he said.