"W&D workers protest sackings", 26 February 2019

More than 100 workers from the W&D factory gathered in front of Phnom Penh Municipal Court … in a show of support for six representatives who are appealing the ruling over their dismissal.

The owner of the W&D factory fired some 1,200 employees … after protests demanding improved conditions.

The factory issued an ultimatum – supported by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court – that the striking workers return to their jobs within 48 hours or be dismissed.

The workers responded to the ultimatum by occupying the factory, with their representatives saying they would not give in until the factory owners met their demands…

“On December 31 last year, the Arbitration Council ordered striking workers to return to work."…

Lim Borei, another of the six, said the workers had less work to do after the factory had taken away some of its equipment during the strike. That, he said, prompted the factory owners to complain to the court and Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training before dismissing the workers…

Factory representative and defence lawyer, Taing Meng, told … that factory owners had merely followed legal procedure.

“The workers appealed the ultimatum because they want to go back on strike,” he said.

Seang Yuth, an official at the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), disagreed, saying the workers had asked the court to reverse its decision because the ultimatum violated their rights.